Hanafusa Dermatology Clinics

Chairman

Hanafusa Hizuki

Hanafusa Hizuki
Pursuing happiness of our patients, and changing dermatology in Japan

I feel that Japan's dermatological industry tends to prioritize profit. There are a lot of clinics who carelessly proceed with unnecessary or unfounded treatments or treatments with negative evidence. While it is true that our facility needs to profit, we are firm in our belief to say no to treatments not confirmed to be sufficiently safe. We emphasize the scientific perspective and bear the responsibility of the treatment outcome. I think that such a natural universal value will matter the most at the very end. I continue to provide treatments with the aim to satisfy and bring happiness to my patients.

Year of Birth
1979
Birthplace
Osaka
Name
Hanafusa Dermatology Clinics
Headquarters
2F Kamirenjaku City Heights, 4-3-5 Kamirenjaku, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo
Founded
2011
Type of business
Dermatology, Cosmetic Dermatology
url
https://mitakahifu.com/
I was so sickly as a child that I was admitted for pneumonia immediately after being born. I was atopic when I was in elementary school, so I regularly visited the dermatology clinic every week. The symptoms were not that severe, but I didn't like being seen by people while in the pool or during physical education. These are really painful memories. These experiences are why I decided to go for a profession that can help people, and ultimately, pursue being a doctor. After graduating from university, I thought of becoming a surgeon for cancer, so I interned at the Cancer Institute Hospital. However, being in a specialized hospital, there were only a few opportunities where I could be face-to-face with every patient. I felt that it was different from my image of a doctor. I also considered my poor physical fitness and my experiences as a child, so I transferred to the dermatology department of The University of Tokyo Hospital. From there, I switched to NTT Medical Center Tokyo and Tokyo Welfare Pension Hospital, and in 2011, I started working independently.

I thought that my experience as a public physician mainly conducting surgeries would come in use now that I was working independently. However, no matter how many equipments are prepared, performing surgeries at the same level as in a big hospital was difficult as a private clinic. With various trial-and-error, I remembered that non-invasive laparoscopy, or a procedure with the least pain and the least conspicuous wounds, were the main trend when I was a surgical intern. That's when I noticed that this concept was still absent in dermatology. During this time, if a tumor was present. it was common to thoroughly remove it so as to not cause the deterioration of the shape. The ensuing scars were really a big burden for patients. I thought that introducing minimally-invasive procedures to dermatology would greatly save more patients from excruciating pain, so I decided to try it.

Initially, there was great opposition from the industry, and these procedures were frowned upon. It is easier for pathological tests to collect neoplastic specimen, so even if the patient's wound becomes contaminated, there were features that placed importance to the specimen. However, with the evolution of medical equipment and the dramatic improvement of diagnostic technology, I continued to emphasize that it is not necessary to make large incisions for something that is clearly benign from the beginning. Despite all the negative feedback and criticisms from the industry, during this period, I received several inquiries regarding minimally invasive procedures all throughout Japan. I was convinced that I was doing the right thing, so my belief did not sway in the slightest. There was a dramatic increase in patients visiting my clinic since I started offering minimally invasive procedures.

This made me realize that there are a lot of people who are in pain and suffering. Now that minimally invasive procedures are endorsed, the number of dermatologists following suit have increased, and dermatology is now slowly moving towards minimally invasive methods. However, on the other hand, there are parts which I feel are slightly progressing in the wrong direction. Because minimally invasive surgery is possible only with preliminary diagnostic techniques, physicians tend to make small incisions in any situation. If suspected to be malignant, there is still a need to make large excisions. There are people who want to consider small excisions as the usual conduct as they try to strike a balance between the patient's standpoint and the pathological standpoint, which I believe is not a good situation.

Whenever I participate in an international conference held overseas, there were many instances where I felt as if Japan's dermatology and cosmetic dermatology are behind that of Western countries. At present, aside from minimally invasive procedures, I am also pouring my attention to syringe therapy (medical treatment for rejuvenation through injecting hyaluronic acid and botox using a syringe). It is minimally invasive which is a common feature among the techniques I have practiced, so I plan to actively practice it., but Japan is currently simplifying its injection manual. Every patient is different, so there's no unified solution to address all problems, but as a consensus among Western countries, such a manual is incorrect as it is necessary to create a market to some extent in Japan. As a result, the number of cases being rushed to our clinic after experiencing trouble is increasing.

It is important to create a manual and ensure continuous stability, but there is an overwhelming number of people who perform wrongful practices. I am prepared to repeatedly issue warnings in response to the current situation where the burden of the patient is amplified for the sake of accumulating profit. First of all, it is necessary to improve the medical treatment of dermatology until it reaches the level at par with Western countries. For that purpose, we try to read English papers every day, and we share the staff everything that can be applied to daily treatment. The number of doctors wanting to visit our clinic is also increasing, and we accept them any time to explain and convey our techniques and knowledge. Aside from this, I continue to strive to expand the area of the clinic and establish new branches to change Japanese dermatology. Private practitioners have a special mission, and our mission is to "subjugate refractory dermatological diseases and bring happiness to our patients". There are a lot of patients who are suffering, and we want to save as many people as possible. And I will continue to do my best to achieve this mission.

Hanafusa Hizuki
Hanafusa Hizuki

*Information accurate as of time of publication.

Hanafusa Dermatology Clinics

Chairman
Hanafusa Hizuki