Department of Endoscopy, Respiratory Endoscopy Division
Takaaki Tsuchida
We are thrilled to be a facility accredited by the Japanese Society of Respiratory Endoscopy, conducting an impressive 1,200 examinations per year. Our dynamic team is led by three dedicated full-time doctors. We are delighted to welcome trainees and international students, and we are committed to sharing our expertise in respiratory endoscopy techniques with the world. In addition to transbronchial biopsy using an ultrasonic bronchoscope (EBUS-GS, EBUS-TBNA), we introduced a Cryoprobe in 2017, which is used for the diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer. And from 2020, we will be adding forceps biopsy (IFB) during EBUS-TBNA, which will further improve diagnostic accuracy. For cases where pleural effusion or malignant pleural mesothelioma is suspected, we perform thoracoscopy under local anesthesia. The whole thing is done as an outpatient procedure in a single day, and we use intravenous anesthesia to reduce the burden on the patient. And if our scans do reveal a malignant chest tumour, our team will be there to guide you every step of the way, referring you to the Department of Respiratory Medicine or the Department of Thoracic Surgery, so you can get the treatment you need.
