Dr. Yamamoto Kenji

Dr. Yamamoto Kenji is a leading interventional cardiologist at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo, one of Japan's most distinguished private university teaching hospitals. With over 21 years of experience, he is recognized as an authority in complex coronary intervention and structural heart disease, particularly transcatheter approaches to valvular heart disease.

Dr. Yamamoto trained at Juntendo University School of Medicine before completing specialist cardiology training at Juntendo University Hospital and an advanced interventional fellowship at the Thoraxcenter, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam — one of Europe's premier centres for structural heart interventions. He returned to Japan to pioneer the TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) program at Juntendo University Hospital.

His clinical practice focuses on high-risk coronary interventions, including complex multivessel PCI and chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization, as well as transcatheter valve therapies for elderly and high-surgical-risk patients. He is a national proctor for TAVI procedures and travels to train cardiologists at other Japanese hospitals in structural heart techniques.

Japan's rapidly ageing population means valvular heart disease is a growing clinical challenge, and Dr. Yamamoto's subspecialty positions him at the forefront of addressing this national health need with minimally invasive catheter-based solutions.

Dr. Yamamoto earned his MD from Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo. He completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Juntendo University Hospital.

He undertook an advanced interventional cardiology and structural heart disease fellowship at the Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands — a global centre of excellence for complex coronary and structural interventions.

Dr. Yamamoto is board-certified in Cardiovascular Medicine by the Japanese Circulation Society and holds Fellowship (FJCS). He is an approved proctor for TAVI procedures in Japan and has completed advanced training in intravascular imaging including IVUS and OCT.

Dr. Yamamoto's primary expertise is in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including complex lesion subsets such as bifurcation lesions, calcified coronary arteries, left main coronary artery disease, and chronic total occlusions (CTO). He uses intravascular imaging (IVUS, OCT) and physiology assessment (FFR, iFR) to optimize stenting outcomes.

In structural heart disease, he performs transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe aortic stenosis in elderly and high-risk surgical patients, and has experience with transcatheter approaches to mitral regurgitation. He also manages patients with complex valvular heart disease requiring transcatheter or hybrid surgical approaches.

His general cardiology practice covers heart failure management, acute coronary syndromes, arrhythmia assessment, and comprehensive cardiac imaging including echocardiography and CT coronary angiography.

Dr. Yamamoto has published over 70 papers in journals including JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, EuroIntervention, and Circulation Journal. His research focuses on outcomes of CTO-PCI, TAVI in the Japanese elderly population, and the application of intracoronary imaging to optimize complex PCI.

He has been an investigator in Japanese national registries for TAVI outcomes (J-TVT Registry) and complex PCI. He presents regularly at the Japanese Circulation Society Annual Scientific Session, the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference, and EuroPCR.

Dr. Yamamoto sees international patients at Juntendo University Hospital, which provides international patient liaison services. He consults in Japanese and English, and the hospital coordinates medical interpretation for other languages.

Japan's cardiac catheterization and TAVI programs are among the most technically advanced in the world, and international patients seeking complex coronary interventions or transcatheter valve procedures benefit from Dr. Yamamoto's high-volume expertise. Video consultations are available for pre-procedural case review and second opinions.

The hospital's international patient centre assists with travel logistics, visa letters, and cost estimation for cardiac procedures.

Dr. Yamamoto received the Japanese Circulation Society's Young Investigator Award and the Japanese Society of Interventional Cardiology's Award for Excellence in Complex PCI. He has been recognized by Juntendo University Hospital for outstanding contributions to the structural heart disease program.

He serves on the Japanese Society of Interventional Cardiology's education committee and has been an invited faculty member at EuroPCR, TCT, and the Complex Coronary Case Club (CCC Club) international meetings.