Tokyo Women's Medical University

School of Medicine

Otorhinolaryngology

Overview

Regarding middle ear diseases, we provide surgical diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative follow-up for patients with otitis media, including cholesteatoma, chronic otitis media, adhesive otitis media, tympanosclerosis, otosclerosis, and middle ear malformations on the premise of surgery. We perform many middle ear surgeries such as tympanoplasty, stapes surgery. We are actively performing facial nerve decompression surgery for severe facial nerve palsy.
For nasal sinus disease, we often perform endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), endoscopic correction of nasal septum and inferior turbinate surgery. For eosinophilic sinusitis, which is strongly related to asthma, we provide total care for the entire airway in cooperation with our respiratory center in addition to surgery, which has improved the treatment results.
Other than that, we opened an outpatient clinic for xerostomia and dysgeusia in 2001 to diagnose and treat dry mouth, dysgeusia, excessive saliva (drooling), and other oral complaints in general. In the outpatient hearing aid and pediatric hearing loss clinic, we provide hearing examinations, diagnoses, and hearing aid consultations.
In addition, we provide medical care centering on surgical treatment for head and neck tumors.

Education Details

The training curriculum of our department is based on the training curriculum for specialists approved by the Japanese Otorhinolaryngological Society and students are eligible to take the specialist examination after four years of training.
The curriculum is outlined as follows: In the first and second years, students will rotate between outpatient clinics and hospital wards to acquire the basic knowledge necessary for otorhinolaryngological treatment under the guidance of senior doctors. During this period, students will also experience presenting at academic conferences and research meetings. In the third year, students will be transferred to a university or affiliated hospital to perform low to moderate level surgeries under the supervision of a supervising physician. They will also submit case reports as papers. In the fourth year, students are assigned to one of the specialized outpatient departments to acquire more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic skills. In July of the fourth year, students are eligible to sit for the Otorhinolaryngology Specialist Examination.
In the fifth year, the residents and co-medical staff are supervised as chiefs of wards and outpatient clinics. If students wish to obtain a degree, they will be assigned a research theme and will conduct research under the supervision of a supervisor.

Research Details

In the salivary gland-related field, we are conducting research to elucidate the mechanism of Kimura's disease (soft eosinophilic granulomatosis) and its treatment, to examine the pathology of Mikulitz disease and IgG4-related diseases, and to elucidate the pathogenesis of true excessive salivation and develop treatment methods for this disease.
In the middle ear-related field, we are investigating the pathogenesis of the disease as a member of the Eosinophilic Otitis Media Research Group, including its relation to asthma, exploring the differences in pathophysiology from mild to severe cases, and devising treatments according to the pathophysiology.
In the field of rhinosinusitis, we have developed treatment guidelines for eosinophilic sinusitis, which has been increasing in recent years, including pharmacotherapy and endoscopic sinus surgery based on the pathophysiology of the disease. We are also analyzing the expression of IgG4 class switch inducers in the sinus mucosa to elucidate the presence of IgG4-associated sinusitis. For allergic rhinitis, we are also conducting genome-wide analysis in the epithelial layer and searching for newly expressed products using the Nasal brushing technique and next-generation sequencers.

Faculty

Manabu Nonaka
Munenaga Nakamizo
Yukie Yamamura
Yukako Seo

Related links

Research Achievements Database

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