Ignacio Lugones

Description

Dr. Ignacio Lugones joined Long Island University in 2024 as part of the Center of Excellence of Dassault Systèmes to lead research initiatives from a medical perspective, focusing on congenital heart disease, artificial intelligence, and the development of novel medical technologies. He is currently involved in interdisciplinary projects that integrate patient-specific simulation, advanced surgical planning, and innovation in device design.

His professional background includes more than two decades of surgical practice and leadership roles within public and private healthcare institutions in Argentina. Dr. Lugones received his MD from the National University of La Plata in 2003. He began his surgical career at the Children’s Hospital “Dr. Ricardo Gutiérrez” in Buenos Aires, training under the leadership of the renowned surgeon Dr. Guillermo Kreutzer. Between 2013 and 2016, he directed the Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at Favaloro Foundation University Hospital, having previously served as staff surgeon from 2010 to 2013. He then moved to the position of Head of the Cardiac Surgery Unit at the Children´s Hospital of Buenos Aires “Dr. Pedro de Elizalde”. He obtained a PhD in Medical Sciences from Favaloro University in 2017.

Over the years, he has contributed to the development and refinement of surgical techniques for congenital heart defects, including a procedure for scimitar syndrome commonly referred to as the "Lugones operation." His clinical and academic work encompasses aortic valve reconstruction, atrioventricular septal defect, and single ventricle strategies, among other pathologies.

He is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of AVaTAR MedTech, a company focused on cardiac medical devices. Dr. Lugones is a member of several professional societies, including the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. He has served as a reviewer for multiple international journals and authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Research

Topics: Congenital Heart Disease; Surgical Strategy Development; Structural Valve Reconstruction; Hybrid and Transcatheter Techniques; Imaging-Guided Surgical Planning; Device Innovation; Artificial Intelligence in Diagnosis and Simulation.

Dr. Ignacio Lugones has developed and implemented novel surgical approaches for a range of congenital heart diseases, with particular emphasis on structural valve pathology, anomalous venous return, and univentricular physiology. His clinical and translational research has focused on improving surgical outcomes through new operative techniques, device design, and integration of image-based planning tools.

Scimitar Syndrome and Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Drainage
He designed and implemented a novel rerouting technique for scimitar syndrome using in situ pericardial tissue, which has been applied in multiple clinical settings and evaluated in long-term follow-up studies. This approach—referred to in the literature as the “Lugones operation”—has contributed to expanding surgical options for this rare anomaly.

Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD)
Dr. Lugones introduced echocardiographic metrics for preoperative evaluation of unbalanced AVSD, refining the surgical decision-making process in borderline biventricular repair cases. He proposed a unified framework for classifying right-dominant AVSD to assist in the selection of optimal surgical strategies.

Tetralogy of Fallot and Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Reconstruction
He has contributed to the refinement of valve-sparing techniques and the design of semilunar valve reconstruction procedures using trileaflet geometry, both in open surgery and in experimental in vivo and in vitro models. These studies supported the viability of customized valve solutions in pediatric patients.

Single Ventricle Physiology and Fontan Circulation
He has published novel strategies for late-presenting single ventricle patients, including hybrid approaches and modifications of traditional Fontan-Kreutzer procedures. His work includes pre-catheterization surgical techniques to facilitate future interventions and improve long-term hemodynamic outcomes.

Aortic and Pulmonary Valve Disease
Dr. Lugones has developed and tested new surgical approaches for valve reconstruction in children and adolescents. His research includes experimental assessment of valve function and geometry in porcine models and bench testing platforms.

Device Development and Digital Simulation
As an innovator and co-founder of AVaTAR MedTech, he has been involved in the creation of medical devices, including systems for dual-patient ventilation during the pandemic and structural valve modeling since almost one decade. He currently leads projects integrating AI-driven diagnostic tools with image-based simulations for surgical planning and training in congenital heart surgery.

His publications address both clinical outcomes and experimental validation of new strategies. Many of his contributions have been presented in international forums and published in peer-reviewed journals specializing in pediatric and congenital heart surgery.

Distinctions & Awards

Buenos Aires City Government, Argentina

• Recognition as Outstanding Personality of Medical Sciences, 2019

City Government of La Plata, Argentina

• Recognition as Outstanding Personality of Medicine, 2020

American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), USA

• Graham Foundation “Every Heartbeat Matters” Award, 2015
• Graham Foundation “Every Heartbeat Matters” Award, 2016
• Graham Foundation “Every Heartbeat Matters” Award, 2017

Selected Publications

• Zezular I, Carlson-Hanse L, Choe HJ, Craiem D, Lugones I. Eleven years after scimitar syndrome repair with the Lugones technique: usefulness of 4D flow MRI. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2024 (accepted for publication).
• Kreutzer GO, Lugones I, Kreutzer J, Kreutzer C. Living to Tell the Tale: A First-Person Chronicle of the Development of the Fontan-Kreutzer Procedure. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2024 Jan;15(1):104-108.
• Biancolini MF, Lugones I. The South American Paradigm of Congenital Cardiac Disease Care. Journal of Humanitarian Cardiovascular Medicine 2023, 1(2).
• Carlson Hanse L, Tjørnild MJ, Karunanithi Z, Jedrzejczyk J, Islamagič L, Hummelshøj NE, Enevoldsen M, Lugones G, Lauridsen MH , Hjortdal V, Lugones I. Trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction: Acute Porcine In Vivo Evaluation. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2023 Jul;14(4):509-515.
• Opel D, Carlson-Hanse L, Biancolini MF, Jacobi P, Martinez IA, Salomón CJ, Lugones I. Cardiac paraganglioma in a pediatric patient. JTCVS Tech. 2023;18:100-103.
• Diliz-Nava HS, López Terrazas JH, Palacios Macedo-Quenot AJ, Zezular I, Laudani V, Lugones I. The Lugones Procedure for Scimitar Syndrome Repair Through Right Axillary Thoracotomy: Not Only a Cosmetically Superior Approach. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2022 Nov;13(6):777-781.
• Carlson Hanse L, Tjørnild MJ, Sørensen SG, Johansen P, Lugones I, Hjortdal VE. Trileaflet semilunar valve reconstruction: pulsatile in vitro evaluation. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2022 Sep 9;35(4):ivac227.
• Ramos M, Orofino R, Riva D, Biancolini MF, Lugones I. Electronic computer-based model of combined ventilation using a new medical device. Rev Chil Anest 2022;51(4): 409-418.
• Lugones I, Barbosa JD, Schvartz G, Ackerman J, Laudani V, Vitorino AM, Lucini V, Garay F. A Hybrid Strategy for Geometrical Reshaping of the Main Pulmonary Artery and Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2021 Sep;12(5):643-648.
• Lugones I, Ramos M, Biancolini MF, Orofino Giambastiani R. Combined Ventilation of Two Subjects with a Single Mechanical Ventilator Using a New Medical Device: An In Vitro Study. Anesthesiol Res Pract 2021;2021:6691591.
• Lugones I, Orofino Giambastiani R, Robledo O, Marcos M, Mouly J, Gallo A, Laulhé V, Biancolini MF. A New Medical Device to Provide Independent Ventilation to Two Subjects Using a Single Ventilator: Evaluation in Lung-Healthy Pigs. Anesthesiol Res Pract 2020;2020:8866806. doi: 10.1155/2020/8866806.
• Thibaud Poretti AMC, Casciaro ME, Lugones I, Choe HJ, Craiem D. Semiautomatic tool for segmentation of hearts with congenital pathologies. Revista Argentina de Bioingeniería 2020;24(2):3-7.
• Lugones I, Junco N, Biancolini MF, Martínez IA, Damsky Barbosa J. The Kawashima operation with simultaneous preparation for transcatheter Fontan-Kreutzer procedure. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2020;11(1):105-107.
• Lugones I, Biancolini MF, Lugones G, Biancolini JC, de Dios AM. The matter of “unbalance” in right dominant atrioventricular septal defect. Ann Pediatr Card 2019;12:132-4.
• Vida VL, Guariento A, Milanesi O, Gregori D, Stellin G et al. The natural history and surgical outcomes of patients with scimitar syndrome: a multi-centre European study. Eur Heart J 2018;39(12):1002-1011.
• Lugones I. Right dominant atrioventricular septal defect: the road to a unified model of echocardiographic interpretation. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2017 Nov;8(6):759-760.
• Lugones I, Biancolini MF, Zerpa Pacheco VE, Martínez IA, Damsky Barbosa JMM, de Dios AMS. Modified in situ pericardial rerouting technique for scimitar syndrome repair. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2017 Nov;8(6):735-739.
• Lugones I, Biancolini MF, Biancolini J, de Dios AMS, Lugones G. Feasibility of biventricular repair in right dominant unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: a new echocardiographic metric to refine surgical decision-making. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2017;8(4):460-467.
• Lugones I, Junco N, Inguanzo PD. Surgical resection of cardiac rhabdomyoma in a neonate. Ann Clin Case Rep 2016;1:1115.
• Lugones I, Inguanzo P, Ganum G, Di Santo M, García R. Unique combination of atrioventricular septal defect with cor triatriatum and complete vascular ring. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2015;6(2):332-334.
• Lugones I, García RO. A new surgical approach to scimitar syndrome. Ann Thorac Surg 2014;97:353-5.
• Castignola MG, Lugones I, García RO, Di Santo M, Ganum G, Haberman D. Cardiac hidatidosis with aortic embolism. Rev Argent Radiol 2013;77(3):206-208.
• Lugones I, Inguanzo P, Antoni D, Di Santo M, García RO. Surgical correction of Tetralogy of Fallot in adulthood. Open Journal of Thoracic Surgery 2012;2:72-77.
• Lugones I, Kreutzer C, Román MI, Schlichter A. ALCAPA: results of surgical correction. Rev Argent Cardiol 2010;78:411-416.
• Chiostri B, Lugones I, Grippo M, Trentacoste L, Schlichter AJ. Aortopulmonary fistula after an arterial switch operation. Ann Thorac Surg 2010;89:287-9.
• Lugones I, López Daneri M, Conejeros WM, Grippo M, Schlichter AJ. Acrocomia aculeata as an unreported cause of tricuspid regurgitation. Ann Thorac Surg 2009;88:983-5.