The Reiwa Era

Starting literally from zero, I developed the concept, and we opened in October 2018. There have been twists and turns, but we have been able to move in a good direction.

Since opening, I have seen more than 1,500 outpatients.

I am deeply grateful to have built a facility where I can practice the medicine I believe in, and to have so many people visit. I also thank everyone who has helped us from the bottom of my heart.

[About eye surgery / “medical retina”]

While there are diseases for which surgery is essential, there are also many diseases that can be kept from needing surgery by acting early.

I wanted to see many such diseases, so I decided to build an eye clinic in the space that came to me through connections in the Takatori Shopping Street.

With the development of diagnostic imaging such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography, understanding of retinal disease has advanced, and drug treatment has also made leaps in progress.

Along with this, a field called “medical retina” has been established in ophthalmology.

It was a term that did not yet exist when I left Nagasaki in 2001 and became an ophthalmology resident.

In the Kyushu University department and during my time studying in Boston, I was able to take part in cutting-edge research on inflammation of the retina and vitreous and its drug treatment.

Getting to know so many wonderful doctors and researchers throughout those years is also an important asset to me.

At Takeru Eye Clinic, too, we can now understand quite a lot about the eye.

I am constantly amazed by the progress of the various medical devices and by being able to use them in practice.

We perform tests as needed, and present all the results on a monitor to explain them clearly.

For example: when things are hard to see, vision may not be lowered by “cataract” alone, and some disease may be hiding at the back of the eye.

So that your family can understand as well, we also show you the images at a later date.

Once all the test results are in, a visit just to explain them to your family is also possible.

For diseases judged to need surgery, we refer you directly to a surgical specialist according to your wishes, without missing the right timing.

I think doctors who make eye surgery their profession polish their skills every day, just like in the arts and sports.

After surgery, we will take responsibility for follow-up at our clinic.

[About “myopia”]

For me, who specialized in immunology, myopia was a somewhat distant field (of research).

It is a field I became very interested in after opening.

“As myopia progresses, in the distant future it can lead to glaucoma, retinal disease, and so on.”

“If we can treat safely from childhood, there is a good chance of keeping myopia from progressing.”

As I read many papers, I found that progress in the field of myopia is also astonishing.

It is wonderful that this is being brought back into clinical practice.

My thinking about what Takeru Eye Clinic can do has come together considerably.

Needless to say, in this field too, mutual understanding with patients is the most important thing.

[Community contribution / community medicine]

It is getting warmer, and events are planned in the neighborhood for the coming summer and fall.

The Takatori Shopping Street Saturday Night Market and the Sazae-san Shopping Street Dream Festival (Nishijin to Fujisaki).

Through friends in music and art, I may be able to take part in something too.

The Reiwa era has begun, and we resume care from tomorrow.

We would like to continue honest medical care so that our eye clinic is well loved by everyone in the community.

Thank you for your continued support.

Takeru Yoshimura

Takeru Yoshimura, M.D., Ph.D.