Methodist Physicians Pediatric Orthopedic Specialists

Masahiro Ono, MD, PhD is a Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Surgeon with Texas Transplant Institute's Heart Failure and Transplant team. For Dr. Ono, a great day is one where very complicated and challenging surgeries go well: The OR team and I start to prepare the day before, and when the cases go well, I feel like my effort and everyone's efforts are like a chemical reaction in the OR. And, then, when I bring the patient back for a follow-up, everyone is happy!" says Dr. Ono. Dr. Ono was inspired to pursue a career as a surgeon early on. His father, a maxillofacial surgeon in Japan, was his primary influence. Later, after medical school and a general surgery residency at Showa University School of Medicine in Tokyo, it became clear that cardiac surgery would be his chosen subspecialty where the most acute cases offered both the greatest challenge and the greatest reward. Dr. Ono completed his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship and a PhD at Showa University. He would soon discover, however, that some patients with advanced heart failure were too sick for surgery and he decided to relocate to the United States to train in cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support. Once in the US, Dr. Ono completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He then secured a cardiovascular surgery fellowship at Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, Texas followed by a cardiothoracic transplant and mechanical circulatory support surgery fellowship there. Before joining Methodist, Dr. Ono practiced with Texas Heart Institute where he served as Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Transplant & Circulatory Support in the Michel E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Ono is the recipient of numerous research and teaching awards, including most recently the Chief Award to an Outstanding Faculty Member Selected by the Graduating Chief Residents in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Michel E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Japanese Surgical Society, Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery, Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery and the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation.

Aortic Surgeon Kim de la Cruz, MD, FACS, FACC, FCCP is board certified in Thoracic Surgery and is the Director of Aortic Surgery for Methodist Healthcare System. Dr. de la Cruz is passionate about complex thoracic aortic pathologies and innovating novel approaches to their management.

Our experts at Methodist Physicians Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialists offer extensive surgical services for the full range of heart and vascular conditions. From traditional to minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery options, our heart and vascular surgery specialists are known for offering a full spectrum of services including heart transplant, aortic aneurysm repairs, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), heart valve repair or replacement, mechanical circulator support and more.