Greetings
Our hospital has a full-time Cardiovascular Surgery staff of seven, four of whom are specialists. We primarily treat acquired heart, great vessel, and peripheral vascular diseases, but we perform surgeries for representative valvular heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and thoracic aortic disease in roughly equal numbers, and the number of surgeries using cardiopulmonary bypass is increasing annually, exceeding 330 cases. Including abdominal aortic surgery, we perform over 200 aortic surgeries annually, and approximately 30% of these are emergency surgeries where every second counts, so our staff works tirelessly, even at night and on weekends. Emergency surgeries that begin late at night may not be completed by the next morning, sometimes causing delays to scheduled surgeries or preventing staff from seeing patients. In such cases, all staff members work together to minimize inconvenience to patients, but we acknowledge that there may be shortcomings. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know via the suggestion box or other means.
Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery
Yasunori Naga
Treatment details
Cardiovascular Surgery provides surgical treatment for ischemic heart disease, including angina pectoris; acquired heart disease, including valvular heart disease; arrhythmia; aortic disease, primarily aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection; congenital heart disease; and arteriovenous diseases of the limbs and internal organs, including arteriosclerosis obliterans. We also treat patients with highly urgent conditions, especially those with specific conditions. In keeping with our hospital's mission to contribute to regional emergency medical care, our small but highly skilled staff literally dedicates themselves to providing medical care. Providing advanced surgical care is our goal and obligation. In outpatient care, we focus on diagnosing referred patients, determining treatment plans, and providing early postoperative care. To foster and develop collaboration between hospitals and clinics, we encourage patients who have stabilized after surgery to seek medical care at local clinics.
Main target diseases
Ischemic heart disease includes angina pectoris, post-myocardial infarction left ventricular aneurysm, ischemic mitral regurgitation, ventricular septal perforation, and left ventricular rupture. Valvular heart disease includes aortic regurgitation/stenosis, mitral regurgitation/stenosis, tricuspid valve/pulmonary valve disease, and bacterial endocarditis. Pericardial disease includes constrictive pericarditis. Aortic disease includes acute aortic dissection, true aortic aneurysm, coarctation of the aorta, and traumatic aortic injury. Peripheral vascular disease includes arteriosclerosis obliterans, stenosis, acute or chronic occlusion of the limbs, varicose veins, venous thrombosis, and visceral aneurysms of the abdominal organs. Surgical treatment is also available for paroxysmal or chronic atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia associated with heart disease. Bradyarrhythmias, such as sinus node dysfunction and atrioventricular block, are also candidates for treatment. Currently, we perform surgeries for congenital heart disease, such as atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus, on patients of school age or older.
Main medical achievements
In 2025, our department performed surgery on 821 patients, including 675 cases of open-heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and thoracoabdominal aortic surgery, 101 cases of peripheral artery surgery, and numerous cases of varicose vein surgery. In terms of surgical techniques, we performed 67 cases of coronary artery bypass surgery, 304 cases of valve repair/replacement, and 238 cases of thoracoabdominal aortic artificial blood vessel replacement or stent graft placement, demonstrating a comprehensive range of procedures for representative diseases. Tokai University Hospital is a facility that actively provides advanced emergency medical care, and more than 30% of our aortic and peripheral vascular surgeries are emergency surgeries. In addition, we treat more than 70 cases of acute aortic dissection annually, including patients who received conservative treatment, and many of these patients were transferred by ambulance from hospitals in the Seisho region. Our areas of particular focus include left ventricular reconstruction, such as the Dor procedure for ischemic cardiomyopathy (over 100 cases performed since 2002), aortic valve replacement with preservation of the aortic valve for aortic root dilation (over 50 cases performed), mitral valve repair (90% of mitral valve surgeries performed), Maze procedure for atrial fibrillation (43 cases in 2025), and stent graft placement for aortic aneurysms (63 cases in 2025). Since 2011, we have had two cardiopulmonary bypass machines in parallel, and since 2017, we have had access to a hybrid operating room, enabling not only hybrid surgeries but also emergency responses during scheduled surgeries. We also perform minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) if requested by the patient. We believe this will allow us to make a further contribution to regional healthcare.
Doctor List
Department Head: Yasunori Cho
Assistant Chief Physician of Ward 7A: Satoshi Kotani
Outpatient: 0463 (93) 1121 extension 6201, 6202
Professor Yasunori Cho
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist and Training Instructor / Japanese Society for Thoracic Surgery Supervisor / Japanese Surgical Society Supervisor and Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Coronary artery bypass surgery, left ventriculoplasty, valvular disease surgery, mitral valve repair, aortic surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Monday |
Lecturer: Soshu Kotani
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist / Japan Surgical Society Specialist / Thoracic Aortic Stent Graft Performer and Supervisor / Abdominal Aortic Stent Graft Performer |
| Specialized Areas | Congenital heart disease, valvular disease surgery, aortic surgery, stent graft surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Saturday |
Lecturer: Kimiaki Okada
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist, Training Instructor, TAVI Performer, Specialist of the Japanese Surgical Society |
| Specialized Areas | Minimally invasive surgery, valvular surgery, aortic surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Friday |
Lecturer: Keisuke Ozawa
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist / Japan Surgical Society Specialist / Japanese Society of Angiology Specialist / Thoracic Aortic Stent Graft Specialist and Instructor / Abdominal Aortic Stent Graft Specialist and Instructor |
| Specialized Areas | Coronary artery bypass surgery, valvular heart surgery, aortic surgery, stent graft surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Monday |
Assistant Professor Akiyoshi Yamamoto
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japan Surgical Society Specialist / Japan Angiology Society Specialist / Thoracic Aortic Stent Graft Specialist / Abdominal Aortic Stent Graft Specialist / Endovascular Treatment Specialist for Varicose Veins |
| Specialized Areas | Aortic surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, acquired heart disease, stent graft surgery, peripheral vascular surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Saturday |
Assistant Professor Goro Kishinami
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | Aortic surgery/peripheral vascular surgery, acquired heart disease |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday |
Assistant Professor Tomohiro Hayashi
| Specialization | Cardiovascular Surgery |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | Acquired heart disease, aortic/peripheral vascular surgery |
