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Hiroshi Kagawa
( out of 147 reviews )

Hiroshi Kagawa, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Cardiovascular Center

Cardiovascular Center
50 N Medical Dr
Salt Lake City , UT 84132

Hiroshi Kagawa, MD joins the Division of Cardiothoracic surgery as a faculty member in the adult cardiac section.

Dr. Kagawa grew up in Tokyo, Japan and earned his medical degree from The Jikei University School of Medicine. He completed a General Surgery Residency at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo and a Cardiac Fellowship at the Jikei University in Tokyo. Dr. Kagawa then came to the US to pursue additional training. He completed a Research Fellowship at Stanford University, as well as Adult Cardiac Surgery Fellowships at Northwestern University and Emory University. He did additional training in Cardiothoracic Transplantation at University of Pittsburg Medical Center and remained on as faculty before joining the University of Utah.

Dr. Kagawa has a particular interest in the medical and surgical treatment of patients with end-stage heart and lung failure including acute and chronic mechanical circulatory support and thoracic transplantation. In his free time, Dr. Kagawa enjoys spending time with his daughters, playing tennis, and swimming.

Dr. Kagawa’s clinical interests include:

  • All aspects of adult cardiac surgery including coronary artery bypass surgery, valvular heart disease, and aortic disease
  • Mechanical circulatory support including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as well as short term and durable ventricular assist devices
  • Heart and lung transplantation

Dr. Kagawa’s research interests include:

  • Outcomes research in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support
  • Analyses of current allocation and utilization of donor hearts
  • Novel devices and techniques in thoracic transplantation

Learn more about patient, Manny Arocha, and how Dr. Kagawa led the ECMO surgery team to help treat Manny after testing positive for COVID-19.

Board Certification

Japan Surgical Society
Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery

Patient Rating

Patients consistently praise Dr. Kagawa for his professionalism, surgical skill, and deep clinical knowledge. Many comment that he explains conditions and treatments clearly, communicates directly yet compassionately, and listens to and addresses patient concerns. Several reviewers specifically note positive surgical outcomes and express strong trust in his judgment and care.

Generated via Patient Reviews

4.8 /5
( out of 147 reviews )

The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers. The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.


Hiroshi Kagawa, MD joins the Division of Cardiothoracic surgery as a faculty member in the adult cardiac section.

Dr. Kagawa grew up in Tokyo, Japan and earned his medical degree from The Jikei University School of Medicine. He completed a General Surgery Residency at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo and a Cardiac Fellowship at the Jikei University in Tokyo. Dr. Kagawa then came to the US to pursue additional training. He completed a Research Fellowship at Stanford University, as well as Adult Cardiac Surgery Fellowships at Northwestern University and Emory University. He did additional training in Cardiothoracic Transplantation at University of Pittsburg Medical Center and remained on as faculty before joining the University of Utah.

Dr. Kagawa has a particular interest in the medical and surgical treatment of patients with end-stage heart and lung failure including acute and chronic mechanical circulatory support and thoracic transplantation. In his free time, Dr. Kagawa enjoys spending time with his daughters, playing tennis, and swimming.

Dr. Kagawa’s clinical interests include:

  • All aspects of adult cardiac surgery including coronary artery bypass surgery, valvular heart disease, and aortic disease
  • Mechanical circulatory support including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as well as short term and durable ventricular assist devices
  • Heart and lung transplantation

Dr. Kagawa’s research interests include:

  • Outcomes research in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support
  • Analyses of current allocation and utilization of donor hearts
  • Novel devices and techniques in thoracic transplantation

Learn more about patient, Manny Arocha, and how Dr. Kagawa led the ECMO surgery team to help treat Manny after testing positive for COVID-19.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Surgery -Assistant Professor (Clinical)
Academic Divisions Cardiothoracic Surgery
Board Certification
Japan Surgical Society
Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery

Education history

Fellowship Cardiothoracic Transplantation - University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Fellow
Fellowship Adult Cardiac Surgery - Emory University School of Medicine Fellow
Fellowship Adult Cardiac Surgery - Northwestern Memorial Hospital Fellow
Research Fellow Pediatric Cardiac Surgery - Stanford University Research Fellow
Residency Cardiac Surgery - The Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital Resident
Doctoral Training The Jikei University Graduate School of Medicine Ph.D.
Residency General Surgery - St. Luke’s International Hospital Resident
Professional Medical Scholarship Student - University of London, King’s College London, Guy’s, St.Thomas’ Hospital, School of Medicine
Professional Medical Medicine - The Jikei University School of Medicine M.D.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Kagawa H, Aranda-Michel E, Kormos RL, Keebler M, Hickey G, Wang Y, Mathier M, Kilic A (2020). Aortic Insufficiency After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation: Predictors and Outcomes. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(3), 836-843.
  2. Kagawa H, Ramani R, Keebler M, Sciortino C (2019). Left ventricular assist device implant and subsequent orthotopic heart transplant after chronic type B aortic dissection. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 57(2), 404-405.
  3. Genuardi MV, Kagawa H, Minervini M, Mathier MA, Sciortino C (2019). A Case Report of Cardiac Transplantation for Isolated Cardiomyopathy Associated With Propionic Acidemia. Prog Transplant, 29(4), 364-366.
  4. Sultan I, Gleason TG, Kagawa H, Keebler M, Mathier M, Kormos RL, Kilic A (2018). The impact of centre volume on outcomes of orthotopic heart transplant in older recipients. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg, 29(4), 576-582.
  5. Kagawa H, Coyan G, Davis K, Kilic A, Hickey G, Kormos R, Mathier M, Phillips D, Sciortino C (2019). Severe Dizziness and Syncope After HeartMate 3 Implantation Requiring Pump Exchange. Ann Thorac Surg, 108(3), e149-e151.
  6. Kilic A, Gleason TG, Kagawa H, Kilic A, Sultan I (2019). Institutional volume affects long-term survival following lung transplantation in the USA. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg.
  7. Fujii Y, Ferro G, Kagawa H, Centola L, Zhu L, Ferrier WT, Talken L, Riemer RK, Maeda K, Nasirov T, Hodges B, Amirriazi S, Lee E, Sheff D, May J, May R, Reinhartz O (2015). Is Continuous Flow Superior to Pulsatile Flow in Single Ventricle Mechanical Support? Results from a Large Animal Pilot Study. ASAIO J, 61(4), 443-7.
  8. Fujii Y, Pitsillides K, Ferro G, Kagawa H, Centola L, Kinouchi K, Zhu L, Ferrier WT, Talken L, Nasirov T, Riemer RK, Reinhartz O (2015). Hemodynamic monitoring of large animal chronic studies after median sternotomy: experiences with different telemetric physiological devices. ASAIO J, 61(3), 332-8.
  9. Kagawa H, Morita K, Uno Y, Ko Y, Matsumura Y, Kinouchi K, Hashimoto K (2014). Inflammatory response to hyperoxemic and normoxemic cardiopulmonary bypass in acyanotic pediatric patients. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg, 5(4), 541-5.
  10. Sebastian VA, Ferro G, Kagawa H, Nasirov T, Maeda K, Ferrier WT, Takatani S, Riemer RK, Hanley FL, Reddy VM (2012). Fetal cardiac intervention: improved results of fetal cardiac bypass in immature fetuses using the TinyPump device. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 145(6), 1460-4.
  11. Nakamura K, Kawahito K, Matsumura Y, Kagawa H, Hashimoto K (2012). [Severe intestinal ischemia due to chronic aortic dissection; report of a case]. Kyobu Geka, 65(2), 161-4.
  12. Kagawa H, Morita K, Nagahori R, Shinohara G, Kinouchi K, Hashimoto K (2009). Prevention of ischemia/reperfusion-induced pulmonary dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass with terminal leukocyte-depleted lung reperfusion. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 139(1), 174-80.
  13. Ko Y, Morita K, Nagahori R, Kinouchi K, Shinohara G, Kagawa H, Hashimoto K (2009). Myocardial cyclic AMP augmentation with high-dose PDEIII inhibitor in terminal warm blood cardioplegia. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 15(5), 311-7.
  14. Sakamoto Y, Hashimoto K, Okuyama H, Ishii S, Taguchi S, Kagawa H, Morita K (2007). Repair of mitral periprosthetic leak secondary to severe annular calcification. J Heart Valve Dis, 16(2), 132-5.
  15. Sakamoto Y, Hashimoto K, Okuyama H, Takakura H, Ishii S, Taguchi S, Kagawa H (2005). Prevalence and avoidance of patient-prosthesis mismatch in aortic valve replacement in small adults. Ann Thorac Surg, 81(4), 1305-9.
  16. Sakamoto Y, Hashimoto K, Okuyama H, Ishii S, Taguchi S, Kagawa H, Yoshitake M (2006). Midterm results of mitral valve repair with the Carpentier-Edwards rigid ring. Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 54(2), 56-60.
  17. Sakamoto Y, Hashimoto K, Okuyama H, Ishii S, Shingo T, Kagawa H (2005). Prevalence of pannus formation after aortic valve replacement: clinical aspects and surgical management. J Artif Organs, 9(3), 199-202.

Case Report

  1. Kagawa H, Keebler ME, Hickey G, Sultan I, Kilic A (2019). Concomitant abdominal exploration with durable left ventricular assist device implantation. J Card Surg, 35(1), 214-216.