Director of the center:
Professor Koichi Sairyo, MD and PhD
Superintendent of Tokushima University Hospital
Professor and Chairman of Orthopedics Department
International Activities
- International Society for Study of the Lumbar Spine: ISSLS (active member)
- International Society for the advancement of the spine surgery: ISASS (member)
- International Society of Endoscopic Spine Surgery: ISESS (Board member candidate)
- International Intradiscal Therapy Society: IITS (Congress President 2021)
- Asian Congress Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery :ACMISST (Board member, Japan representative)
- Pacific Asian Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: PASMISS (Board member, Japan representative)
- World Congress Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery :WCMISST (Congress President 2021)
- World Spinoscope Alliance: WSA (founding member)
Main topics
- Less invasive endoscopic surgery under local anesthesia:
- Possible in the super-aged people with poor general condition
- Quick return to the job in young generation
- Less invasive surgery for athletes: Quick return to original sport activity
INTRODUCTION:
In Tokushima University Hospital, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) has been the main theme of Department of Orthopedics in this five decades. During 1980’, Professor Ikata started the microscopic spine surgery including discectomy (micro-Love) and decompression (micro-decomp) for the lumbar spine disorders.
In 1998, Microendoscopic discectomy (MED) started in Japan; then, the MED was initiated at our department in 2000. The MED was further applied to (1) lumbar laminectomy, (2) cervical foraminotomy, (3) spondylolysis decompression and (4) Buck direct repair of the pars defects. MED and the related surgical procedure requires 16-18mm skin incision and general anesthesia.
Dr. Sairyo as an associated Professor of our department moved to Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital in order to learn the least invasive full-endoscopic spine surgery (FESS) in 2010. The FESS only requires 8mm skin incision, and is possible under local anesthesia. Dr. Sairyo learned a lot from Professor Akira Dezawa and Professor Anthony Yeung in Arizona, USA .
In 2013, Dr. Sairyo returned Tokushima and became professor and chairman of our department; thus, FESS was established here in Tokushima University. Since then, we have developed the FESS for the variety of the spine conditions.
Basic surgical procedure of full-endoscopic spine surgery under local anesthesia, awake and aware condition: How to perform the local anesthesia, Video presentation
JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments):
Transforaminal Full-Endoscopic Lumbar Foraminotomy Under Local Anesthesia for L5/S1 Adjacent Segment Foraminal Stenosis: Kitahara T, et al. J. Vis. Exp. (224), e69059, doi:10.3791/69059 (2025).
Current Indication of the FESS under local anesthesia
- Lumbar Herniated Nucleus Pulposus
- Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis
- Foraminal stenosis
- Lateral recess stenosis
- Central stenosis
- Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis
- Lumbar Spondylolysis and Isthmic Spondylolisthesis
- Lumbar Tumorous Conditions (Discal Cyst and Juxta Facet Cyst)
- Discogenic Low Back Pain
- Type 1 Modic Change Low Back Pain
- Baastrup Disease (Synovitis and Kissing Spine)
- Thoracic Herniated Nucleus Pulposus
- Thoracic Spinal Canal Stenosis
- Foraminal stenosis
- Central stenosis
FESS and MIS in Sports Medicine
- Lumbar Herniated Nucleus Pulposus
- Lumbar Foraminal Stenosis
- Lumbar Discogenic Pain
- Lumbar Type 1 Modic Change Low Back Pain
- Baastrup disease
- Pars Fracture (Spondylolysis)
Location
Department of Orthopedics, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima-shi, Tokushima 770-8503, JAPAN
Access
Haneda airport to Tokushima airport (1 hour),
Tokushima airport to Tokushima Station (30 min, limousine bus),
Tokushima Station to Tokushima University Hospital (20 min, taxi)
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