Raul Mattassi is director of the Centre for Vascular Malformations “Stefan Belov” at the Clinical Institute Humanitas “Mater Domini” of Castellanza, Varese, near Milan, Italy. He is involved in vascular malformations since over 30 years, founding the Italian Multidisciplinary Center for these diseases in 1992. He published two textbooks about vascular malformations and several chapters of books and articles in leading journals

After his graduation from Heidelberg and Kiel medical schools, Prof. Dirk A. Loose specialized in Surgery and then in Vascular Surgery  at Düsseldorf University, becoming later Professor at the same faculty. He was then appointed Head of the Department for Angiology and Vascular Surgery of the Surgical Hospital Dr. Guth, Hamburg. In 1989 he there co-founded the Center for Circulatory Disturbances and Vascular Defects, and one year later the Center for Vascular Medicine (MVZ), which includes all interdisciplinary departments dealing with vascular diseases, and which he then later left in 2006 after year of outstanding work and commitment. In 2002 Prof. Loose took part in the  Foundation of the “European School for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Vascular Malformations” in the Facharztklinik Hamburg. Since January 1998 he is Head of the Department for Vascular Surgery at the Facharztklinik Hamburg, where he still operates. He has contributed to a number of articles (Eur. J. Radiology and Pediatric Research)  and is editor of a Springer volume.

Dr Vaghi  coauthored and edited the first release of this textbook. He is also editor and author of many  books on vascular anomalies in English , German and Italian language.  He also participated to the redaction of international guidelines in vascular malformations. He is active in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies since 1986 . He is still working in the department of vascular surgery of  G. Salvini Hospital in Garbagnate Milanese.