Provider Spotlight: Health First Cardiothoracic Surgeon Seiichi Noda Has Vast Experience, Passion and Perseverance for Successful Outcomes

Health First Provider Spotlight

I have vivid memories of my childhood, spending time with my father at the hospital where he worked as a neurosurgeon in Japan. Those visits had a profound impact on me.

I’d sit in the corner, watching him work, and like many children, I wanted to be just like him. If your father is a firefighter, you want to be a firefighter; if he’s a police officer, you dream of wearing that badge. For me, it was neurosurgery. I was certain that was my path.

But my father, despite encouraging me to pursue medicine, strongly advised against following him into neurosurgery. He was practical and forward-thinking, and he explained that the field was still in its infancy in the 1960s. Back then, neurosurgeons lacked the advanced tools and imaging we have today. They relied on rudimentary techniques and often operated “blind.”

He believed cardiac surgery offered more opportunities to make a real, lasting impact. The field was breaking new ground with innovations like the heart-lung machine, which allowed surgeons to perform intricate procedures by temporarily stopping the heart. The idea of repairing the human heart captivated him, and he planted that seed in me when I was about 8 years old.

From then on, I was on what I like to call “railroad tracks.” There was no veering off course—no diversions, no hesitation. Heart surgery was my destination.

That single-minded focus carried me through high school and college. I worked a few typical teenage jobs—flipping burgers at Jack in the Box and waiting tables at a local restaurant—but I quickly realized those weren’t for me. Once I entered college, my work life revolved around labs, research, and building skills that would prepare me for medical school. I never wavered from my goal. It was as if I could see the track stretching endlessly ahead, and I was determined to follow it to the end.

Of course, becoming a heart surgeon wasn’t without challenges. When I started my residency, I discovered medicine was far more complicated than I had imagined as a child. Technology, while advancing, was still limited. We didn’t have the imaging or minimally invasive techniques that are commonplace today.

Open-heart surgery in those days was a massive undertaking, requiring incredible precision and a deep understanding of human physiology. There were moments when I doubted whether I had the natural talent to succeed.

Fortunately, I was blessed with a steady hand and a sharp mind, but those alone wouldn’t have been enough without the passion my father instilled in me.

One of the hardest lessons I learned early in my career was that being a great surgeon isn’t just about technical skill; it’s about creativity and problem-solving. Back then, there were times when you had to innovate on the spot because the tools simply didn’t exist.

I remember one patient whose case seemed almost hopeless due to the lack of available technology. I worked with my team to adapt existing equipment, essentially “MacGyver- ing” a solution to get the outcome we needed. Moments like those taught me the value of resilience and ingenuity in medicine.

Another challenge I hadn’t anticipated was the business side of healthcare. When I graduated from medical school, I had this romanticized vision of being a doctor—of helping people without constraints.

But the reality is that there are always barriers: insurance networks, system limitations, and financial constraints that dictate what care can be provided and to whom. It was a rude awakening to realize that even if you have the skills, the facility, and the resources, you can’t always provide care to everyone who needs it.

Learning to navigate those barriers while keeping the patient’s best interests at heart became a critical part of my journey.

Fast forward to my career in St. Louis, where I practiced heart surgery for 24 years. I built programs, trained teams, and accomplished more than I’d ever dreamed. But when COVID-19 hit, everything changed.

The hospital slowed down, elective surgeries were postponed indefinitely, and the practice of medicine itself felt different. Burned out and disillusioned, I decided to retire. That “retirement” lasted all of four months. I was so bored, and I realized that I still had the passion and the ability to contribute.

That’s when an old colleague reached out about an opportunity in Florida. It felt like fate. My wife and I visited, and the timing couldn’t have been better—it was 20 degrees in St. Louis and 70 degrees on the beach in Melbourne. Everything about it felt right, from the community to the hospital team. Moving here was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

Looking back, I owe so much to my father, not just for steering me toward cardiac surgery but for teaching me the importance of passion and perseverance. He knew that without a deep desire to succeed, natural talent and opportunities wouldn’t amount to much. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career, guiding me through challenges and reminding me why I love what I do.

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