Osami Honjo

Cardiovascular Surgeon
Cardiovasular Surgery

Senior Associate Scientist
Translational Medicine

Dr. Osami Honjo became a staff cardiovascular surgeon at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in July 2010 after completing fellowship at SickKids and St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto.

Dr. Honjo’s clinical practice focuses on open heart surgery in neonates and infants with complex congenital heart diseases, surgical palliation for single ventricle patients, mechanical cardiopulmonary support in paediatric population, and surgery for patients with adult congenital heart diseases. Dr. Honjo serves as the surgical director of heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support since 2012 and served as an interim head of the division from 2018 to 2019.

As a senior associate scientist in Translational medicine, Dr. Honjo’s academic focuses include the ex-vivo heart perfusion for optimizing heart transplant donor hearts and development of a novel mechanical circulatory support for neonates and infants with single ventricle physiology, which he obtained multiple national funding. Dr. Honjo holds Watson Family Chair in Cardiovascular Science since 2019.

Dr. Honjo’s academic interests in clinical research have been preoperative and intraoperative decision making on critically ill patients. His research primarily focuses on seeking for clinical predictors/factors that influences outcome, which improve the quality of surgeons’ decision making and patients’ outcome.

Dr. Honjo obtained medical degree at Shimane Medical University and PhD at Okayama University, Japan. He is a diplomat of Japan Surgical Society, and Japanese board of cardiovascular surgery.

Education and experience

• 2010–Present: Staff Cardiovascular Surgeon, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
• 2010–Present: Staff Cardiovascular Surgeon, Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada
• 2000–2005: Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama, Japan (PhD, Cardiovascular Surgery/Physiology)
• 1992–1997: MD, Shimane Medical University, Shimane, Japan

Achievements

• Dec. 2019: President’s Award, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
• Nov. 2019: Jim Wright Innovation Award, Perioperative Services, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
  Creation of a Novel Surgical Technique for the Management of Nutcracker Syndrome
  Presented to: Joao Amaral, Osami Honjo, Armando Lorenzo
• Jan. 2019–Present: Watson Family Chair, Cardiovascular Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

1. Can We Still Improve Survival Outcomes of Neonatal Biventricular Repairs? Luo S, Haller C, Fan CS, Moss K, Manlhiot C, Xie W, Moinshaghaghi A, Haranal M, Schwartz S, Caldarone C, Van Arsdell GS, Honjo O.Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Apr 5:S0003-4975(20)30502-6. 
2. Flow-targeted pediatric ex vivo heart perfusion in donation after circulatory death: A porcine model. Kobayashi J, Luo S, Akazawa Y, Parker M, Wang J, Chiasson D, Friedberg MK, Haller C, Honjo O.J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020 Mar;39(3):267-277. 
3. Computational fluid dynamic simulations of a cavopulmonary assist device for failing Fontan circulation. Lin WCP, Doyle MG, Roche SL, Honjo O, Forbes TL, Amon CH.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019 Nov;158(5):1424-1433.e5. 
4. Fontan Failure and Death in Contemporary Fontan Circulation: Analysis From the Last Two Decades. Kotani Y, Chetan D, Zhu J, Saedi A, Zhao L, Mertens L, Redington AN, Coles J, Caldarone CA, Van Arsdell GS, Honjo O.Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 Apr;105(4):1240-1247.
5. Mechanically assisted bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt in neonates and infants: An acute human pilot study. Honjo O, Merklinger SL, Poe JB, Guerguerian AM, Zhang H, Taylor KL, Van Arsdell GS.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2017 Feb;153(2):441-447.