On August 12, a ceremony was held at the First Affiliated Hospital (FAH) of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) to appoint Professor Keita Kikuchi, a cardiovascular surgery expert from Tokyo Bay Urayasu Ichikawa Medical Center in Japan, as a Distinguished Professor in the FAH of Cardiovascular Surgery. The event also marked the opening ceremony of the fifth session of the International Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Training Program. President Lyu Yi, Vice President Li Lei, Yan Yang, Vice President of the Cardiovascular Hospital and Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, along with the heads of relevant departments, attended the ceremony.
The appointment ceremony was hosted by Professor Yan Yang. President Lyu Yi, on behalf of the FAH, presented Professor Keita Kikuchi with the Distinguished Professor certificate and the hospital badge. He emphasized that Professor Kikuchi’s appointment is a key initiative in the hospital’s flexible talent introduction strategy and will inject cutting-edge international expertise into the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery. He expressed the hope that the department would take this cooperation as an opportunity to achieve a leap from “catching up” to “running alongside” and ultimately to “leading” in the field of minimally invasive treatment for complex coronary artery disease.
Director Yan Yang reviewed the achievements of previous cooperation between the two sides, noting that while the department has established an advantage in minimally invasive valve surgery, breakthroughs are still needed in minimally invasive treatment of complex coronary lesions. Professor Kikuchi’s technical expertise and international perspective will precisely address this discipline’s shortcomings, significantly enhancing the hospital’s capabilities in this field.
In his acceptance speech, Professor Keita Kikuchi praised the academic enthusiasm and strong execution of the cardiac surgery team of the FAH in the field of minimally invasive techniques. He stated that in the future, he will work side by side with the team to make continuous breakthroughs in minimally invasive techniques for complex coronary lesions, and will contribute to building an internationally leading technical system through forms such as joint surgeries, case discussions, talent exchanges, etc.
The concurrently launched Fifth International Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Training Program welcomed five cardiovascular surgeons from Indonesia. Over the coming week, they will engage in in-depth exchanges with the faculty team of the FAH through surgical observations, thematic seminars, case sharing, and other interactive formats.
Since the inaugural program in May 2023, the “Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Technical Training” program at the FAH of XJTU has been successfully held over one hundred sessions, attracting participation of leading experts from countries such as France and Ireland, as well as more than 230 physicians from over one hundred renowned medical institutions across China.
