Professor Bhagawan Koirala

Dr. Bhagawan Koirala, was born in a village in rural Palpa, Nepal. He went on to

graduate from Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine in 1989 and finished his post-

graduation training in cardio-thoracic surgery at the National Institute of Cardiovascular

Diseases at Dhaka University (Bangladesh) in 1994. In addition, Dr. Koirala did fellowship in

cardiac surgery at Baystate Medical Center in the United States and chose to further his

education in pediatric cardiovascular surgery at The Hospital for Sick Children (University of Toronto) in 2000.

Dr. Koirala has always remained steadfast in his dedication to equitable healthcare

practices within Nepal. Since 1997, he has been known for pioneering the Open-Heart Surgery

Program in Nepal and led the establishment and management of Nepal’s first heart specific hospital (Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center) since 2001.

He advocated and led the program to provide free or subsidized heart care (including surgery) for children under 15, and seniors above 75.

Apart from serving as the executive director at the two major hospitals (Shahid Gangalal

National Heart Center and Tribhuvan University’s Teaching Hospital, he also was interim

Executive Director of Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center of Tribhuvan

University). Dr. Koirala has also remained involved in teaching and mentoring the future doctors of Nepal in his position as professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tribhuvan University where he developed special surgical skills to repair the rheumatic heart valves.

Dr. Koirala was the Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu from 2009 through 2023. In addition, Dr. Koirala has also served as the Executive Vice-Chair of Health Profession

Education (HPE) Commission. He was the Chairman of Nepal Medical Council between 2019 through 2023. He Currently is the Chairman of Kathmandu Institute of Child Health, A non-profit organization that runs multispecialty children’s hospitals in Nepal.

He has over 65 publications in national and international journals.

He is currently involved in many research projects including the Pen Plus initiative, PRIMA project on Acute rheumatic Fever, based out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University, Colors to Save Heart of World Heart Federation.