Riccardo Annibali

Dr. Riccardo Annibali is a colorectal surgeon at Casa di Cura La Madonnina.

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milan in 1985, he specialized in Surgery at the same university in 1990. In 1985, he attended the Military Health School for Medical Officer Cadets in Florence, obtained ECFMG certification (equivalent to the Italian medical degree in the United States) in 1991, and FLEX certification (Federation Licensing Examination – medical licensing exam in the U.S.) in 1992 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. In 2014, the Swiss Confederation, through MEBEKO, recognized his medical degree and specialist qualification in Surgery.

Throughout his professional and academic career, Dr. Annibali has trained at leading international institutions: Visiting Clinician at Shouldice Hospital in Toronto, Canada (1989), the Lichtenstein Institute in Los Angeles, California (1993), and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (1987, 1989, 1991, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009). He was also Clinical and Research Fellow in Colorectal Surgery at the Second Surgical Clinic, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (1992), and in laparoscopic surgery at the Department of Surgery, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA (1992–1993), as well as Fellow in laparoscopic surgery at the Samaritan Hospital in Goiania, Goias, Brazil (1993).

Since 2003, Dr. Annibali has been Coordinator of the “Milano Nord” Coloproctology Unit (UCP), affiliated with the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR), and since 2023 has collaborated with General Surgery at the Day Surgery of Punto RAF S. Croce. Since 2016, he has been practicing privately as a consultant in Surgery, Coloproctology, and Digestive Endoscopy at Casa di Cura La Madonnina.

In the past, he has worked at L. Sacco Hospital in Milan and Valduce Hospital in Como, later serving as consultant in Surgery, Coloproctology, and Digestive Endoscopy at several leading clinics in Milan (San Pio X, San Camillo, Dezza, Columbus).

He has extensive expertise in treating proctological diseases, abdominal wall hernias, and gastroesophageal reflux disease:

• In proctology, he was among the first in Italy to introduce an innovative radical hemorrhoidectomy technique, performable under local anesthesia, with rapid postoperative recovery and low recurrence rates. He has also promoted minimally invasive procedures for pilonidal fistulas (sacrococcygeal) and developed his own transanal surgical technique for rectocele and obstructed defecation syndrome, performed under local anesthesia and allowing early patient discharge.

• In laparoscopy, he contributed to defining a key anatomical zone for hernia repair, known as the “Triangle of Pain,” now referenced in major international surgical manuals.

Overall, Dr. Annibali has performed over 3,000 surgical procedures—around 2,500 of them proctological under local anesthesia—and about 2,500 endoscopic examinations of the digestive tract.

He is the author of 81 invited lectures, conferences, presentations, and moderations, as well as 28 scientific communications at national and international congresses. He has published 87 scientific works (53 in Italian journals and books, 34 in international English- or German-language journals/books), 15 videos, 7 posters presented at scientific congresses, and 60 editorials in specialized or popular journals.

He is a Founding Member of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR), a Fellow of the American Society of Colorectal Surgeons (ASCRS), and a Member of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA).