While most children were outside playing, Kushagra Katariya was in the operating room watching his father perform open-heart surgery in India. 

“I was in the operating room before I was 6 years old,” he said. “It was cool. A lot of my friends thought it was weird, but I grew up with it and wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps by becoming a heart surgeon.”

That time in the O.R. paid off. Now known as Dr. Kush, he serves as a cardiothoracic surgeon at Tucson Medical Center.

Throughout his childhood and teen years, the interest in fixing people’s hearts grew stronger. He went to medical school in India and then made his way to the United States to finish his education and start his career.

After 20 years in the U.S., he got the opportunity to go back to India to start a hospital.

“I started thinking about it during my residency,” he said. “It took about seven to eight years to get an investor, but I was able to go back and build a hospital from the ground up. I had to learn about architecture, finance, law. It eventually became a big company and now there are several hospitals in North India. It was a lot of fun and a very big learning experience. The opportunity was quite awesome.”

Dr. Kush led the hospital in India for seven years before moving away from India to Tucson so his two sons could finish high school here in the US. He has been practicing cardiothoracic surgery at TMC ever since.

“TMC is a great place to work,” he said. “It’s one of the few places where people try to help you out and make your job more fun.”

While building a hospital and watching it grow was exciting, Dr. Kush’s real heart song is helping patients get their lives back.

“It is immensely gratifying,” he said. “Somebody comes to you really sick with terrible chest pain or can’t walk 20 steps without getting short of breath, and then after surgery, they’re all better. They can swim, hike, do what their heart desires (pun intended).”

He loves what he does and knowing he is able to make such an impact keeps him going.

“To be able to do this all your life is very rewarding,” he said. “To look back at life without any regrets. You do work quite hard and long hours and all that, but the smile you see on a patient’s face and their family when they walk in to see you a few days or weeks after surgery is quite amazing.”