Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital > Leadership > Satoshi Kuroyanagi MD PhD

Satoshi Kuroyanagi MD PhD

President & Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery — Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital

Satoshi Kuroyanagi, M.D., Ph.D. — President and Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital

Satoshi Kuroyanagi, M.D., Ph.D.

畔栁 智司

President / Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery
Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital

Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery

Robotic MICS (2023)
40 cases — all fully endoscopic

Waiting time
Typically within 1 week of consultation

Trained under
Dr. Shinichi Higashiue — founder of the Cardiovascular Surgery division at Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital, and recognised five consecutive times as a Best Doctors honoree (2012–2021), a peer-reviewed distinction awarded to physicians selected by their peers.

Legacy
Dr. Kuroyanagi trained directly under Dr. Higashiue for over 20 years before being appointed Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery in 2013 as his successor. Dr. Higashiue now serves as Chairman of the Tokushukai Medical Corporation.

Education
M.D., Shiga University of Medical Science, 2002.
Postgraduate training completed 2004.

Career
Cardiovascular Surgery, Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital; Kanazawa Cardiovascular Hospital; Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital; returned to Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital as Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery in 2013. President since 2024.

Board certifications
Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery (Specialist)
Japanese Board of Surgery (Specialist)

Clinical focus

Dr. Satoshi Kuroyanagi performing robotic MICS — Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital
Dr. Kuroyanagi performing robotic minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS)
  • Robotic minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS):
    Fully endoscopic MICS using the da Vinci system — no sternotomy.
    Dr. Kuroyanagi performs all MICS procedures fully endoscopically,
    reducing surgical burden compared with conventional minimally invasive approaches.
    Volume has grown every year since 2018, reaching 40 cases in 2023.
  • Heart valve surgery:
    Mitral valve repair and replacement, tricuspid valve surgery,
    and atrial septal defect (ASD) closure — including robotic approaches.
  • Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG):
    Off-pump CABG rate 83% (2023). Graft selection is individualised according to age and clinical condition.
  • Catheter-based structural heart procedures:
    TAVI for aortic stenosis; MitraClip (transcatheter mitral valve repair) for high-risk patients.
  • Emergency aortic surgery:
    24/7 response for acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A).
    65 emergency cases in 2023.

For international patients

Dr. Kuroyanagi welcomes international patients seeking cardiovascular surgery,
including those considering robotic MICS as a self-funded option.
Surgery can typically be scheduled within one week of consultation.

English-language support is available through the International Medical Support Department.
For enquiries, please use the contact options on the
Cardiovascular Center page.

Message

Our goal is to offer each patient the most appropriate treatment.
For many patients, that means a minimally invasive approach with a shorter recovery.
For others, open surgery remains the right choice.
We decide together, based on your individual anatomy and condition.

We do not operate a waiting list system.
If surgery is needed, we aim to act promptly.