# Bhagawan Koirala

Bhagawan Koirala (Nepali: भगवान कोइराला) (born July 24, 1960) is a Nepalese Cardiothoracic surgeon, professor and Social worker. He led the team of Nepalese surgeons in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre for Open-heart surgery in Nepal. He is considered a good manager of the public hospitals.

## Education and background

Koirala completed his primary school in his hometown of Palpa. He then completed a “Certificate in General Medicine”, a degree equivalent to that of a Physician assistant, from the Institute of Medicine in Kathmandu. His deep interest took him to Kharkiv, Ukraine, where he graduated from Kharkiv Medical Institute in 1989. He credits his teacher during the paramedic course for encouraging him to take a career in medicine, particularly in the field of cardiac surgery. He did his post-graduation in Cardiothoracic and surgery from the National Institute of Cardiovascular diseases, Dhaka University in 1994. He also has a valid USMLE certificate. He did a year of surgical residency at the Baystate Medical Center and later continued as a fellow in cardiac surgery in the same place. He then completed a year of fellowship (2000) in pediatric cardiac surgery from the Sick Children's Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada The Hospital for Sick Children of Toronto in 2000.

## Career

Koirala started his career at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. He was involved in the team that started the Open Heart surgery program at the Teaching Hospital in 1997. After returning from Canada, he led the newly established Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center as the Executive director from 2001 till 2009. He was an acting Executive Director of Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center MCVTC-Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center – Just another WordPress site. He also served as the Executive Director of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Professionally, he has been heading the department of cardiac surgery while at the heart hospital and later the department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Tribhuvan University. He has performed or directly supervised various kinds of congenital as well as adult heart surgeries between 2001 and 2020.

### Humanitarian projects

He is involved with numerous social and charitable organizations. His motto is: “No child in this country shall die of heart disease because of poverty”. He is currently the Chairman of Jayanti Memorial Trust, an organization that is dedicated to helping patients with heart diseases. He is also the chairman of Karuna Foundation Home, which is working on the prevention, early detection, and rehabilitation of disabilities across Province 1 of Nepal. His next major undertaking is the Children's Hospital project, called Kathmandu Institute of Child Health (KIOCH) Kathmandu Institute of Child Health (KIOCH), which aims to establish a multispecialty children's hospital in Kathmandu and later in all provinces of Nepal.

### Memberships

Koirala is a member of numerous medical and scientific organizations:-
* Nepal Medical Association
* Society of Surgeons in Nepal
* Nepal Heart Foundation
* Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center
* Cardiac Society of Nepal
* Jayanti Memorial Trust
* Bangladesh Cardiac Society
* America Nepal Medical Foundation
* Heart Club Nepal
* Heart to Heart Nepal
* Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons
* American College of Cardiology (FACC)

## Contributions to medicine
### Pioneering open heart surgery in Nepal

The first open-heart surgery in Nepal was performed by the all-Nepalese team including Koirala at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) on 20 February 1997. This initiative gave a hope for treating heart diseases inside the country by establishing the first fully operational heart hospital, and also to ensure free service for the needy.
His social initiative came when Nepal completely lacked resources to treat heart patients, and the rate of heart-related diseases was increasing in the region. According to a National Report on NCDs and CVDs compiled by NHRC in 2010;
   Distribution of NCDs in terms of socio-demographic variables (age, sex, ethnic groups, and geographic area) was calculated. Data shows that out of the total admitted patients, 36.5% patients suffered from NCDs. Out of total NCDs, 38% had heart diseases followed by COPD (33%), whereas diabetes and cancer accounted for 10% and 19% of cases respectively.
MCVTC, headed by Koirala, is famously known for providing medicines at lower prices than the suggested retail price. He also represents the team of Cardiovascular Surgery for Asia Pacific Society of Cardiology's Scientific Council (May 2011 to Feb 2013).

## Honors

* Mrigendra-Samjhana Medical Trust Honor, 2012
* Excellence Achiever's Award, Youth Asia, 2012
* Manager of the year, Management Association of Nepal, 2008
* Hem Bahadur Malla Honor" for outstanding hospital services, Public Administration Association of Nepal, 2006
* Science and Technology Talent Award Grade "A", RONAST, 2005

## Personal life

Koirala was born in Palpa, Nepal. He is married and resides in Kathmandu.