Giovanni Arnoldo Matricali was born on October 4, 1962, in ‘s-Gravenhage, The Netherlands. He graduated from the Bonaventura Keyckenborg College in Leiden (NL) in 1980 and moved that year to Belgium where he studied medicine in Antwerp. He received his M.D. from the Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen in 1987 and started his training in orthopaedic surgery, first under the supervision of Prof. Dr. R. Verdonk, the last three years under the supervision of Prof. Dr. J. Verstreken. Part of this training was done at the Slotervaart Ziekenhuis in Amsterdam (NL). In 1991 he was a co-founder of the first multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic in Belgium at the University Hospital Antwerp. After his graduation as orthopaedic surgeon in 1993, he returned to the Slotervaart Ziekenhuis and the Jan van Breemen Instituut until 1996 as a fellow in rheumatoid arthritis surgery under the supervision of Dr. K.J. Hamelynck. From 1996 until 1999 his main activity was in a private practice in Brussels, and part time at the University of Antwerp with a special interest in diabetic foot problems and rheumatoid arthritis surgery. In 1999, Prof. Dr. Matricali joined the department of orthopeadic surgery at the Catholic University of Leuven as a full-time staff member, to practice foot & ankle surgery under the supervision of Prof. Dr. G.Ph.E. Dereymaeker. Since 2002, he is responsible for the Foot & Ankle Unit. Besides diabetic foot problems and rheumatoid arthritis surgery, his special interest is in both conservative treatment and reconstructive procedures.
Most of the ongoing research projects evaluate the clinical outcome of various treatment methods concerning the Diabetic Foot or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Participation in multicentre, international, RCT’s is aimed for. Other clinical research focuses on the biomechanical characteristics of various pathological conditions and their treatment, virtually always based on the use of gait analysis techniques.
Fundamental research on cartilage repair techniques is a point of interest also, and has been the subject of the doctoral thesis entitled: Tibio Talar Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation: Fundamental aspects on a biopsy site in the ankle.
Current translational research includes the development of an Advanced Clinical Evaluation Platform to increase the understanding of the altered biomechanical conditions responsible for diabetic foot ulcers.
He is a member of the research committee of the department, is responsible for the last-year students in the department, and is among the responsible MD’s for hospital hygiene.
Prof. Dr. Matricali is an active member of national and international scientific societies. He is a member of several committees to promote the care concerning the diabetic foot, and is a member of the advisory board concerning the training in Batchelor in Podiatry at the Artevelde Hogeschool in Ghent.
Since 1985, Dr. Matricali is married to Alfonsina Daniela Fini, and he is the father of Susanna and Katia Eleonora Matricali.
