Passion and Mission in Ophthalmic Surgery

I grew up watching my father, who was a dentist, and decided to follow in his footsteps and aim to become a doctor. Although ophthalmology was not on my list of options at first, that changed during my residency. I became drawn to the appeal of eye surgery during my training, partly because I was good at performing delicate work with my nimble hands. Seeing the joy of patients who had become able to see when they could not see before gave me a sense of mission, and I felt sure of the path I should take.
In 2012, when I was the head of the medical office at Nagoya University Hospital, I handled surgical operations until late at night for patients brought in from both within and outside the prefecture, with urgent conditions such as retinal detachment and intraocular inflammation, and serious conditions such as globe rupture. I gained experience with a diverse array of cases, and honed a wide range of surgical skills.
After being appointed as the vice-director of Miyake Eye Hospital in 2016, I performed surgeries for retinal and vitreous diseases, glaucoma surgery, corneal transplants, and advanced cataract surgery.
When I opened the clinic in 2021, including the word “surgery” in the name was a kind of gamble. There was a risk that such a highly pointed name would limit the clinic's patient base, and there was also a concern that the word “surgery” would cause anxiety to patients. While some of my doctor colleagues advised me to reconsider, I stuck to my belief that I wanted to clearly demonstrate the surgical expertise I had cultivated up to that point.
As of 2024, Asami Eye Surgery Clinic performs around 1,700 operations a year. I feel a sense of significance and fulfillment from my work every day, whenever I see the joy on the faces of patients and their families who are now able to live normal lives.

Providing Satisfaction and Healing

If I were in the position of a patient, I think I would feel that eye surgery is very scary. Even when they are anaesthetized, there are some patients who panic just from lying down on the operating table. For this reason, our clinic focuses on alleviating patients' fears and anxieties and providing satisfaction and healing. For example, we carefully explain a patient's condition and details of the surgery, and use large monitors so that patients with poor eyesight can also see them clearly, enabling them to deepen their level of understanding.
In particular, we focus on providing psychological support through music. Whereas in the past we would play typical healing music during surgery, we now play music that helps our patients to truly relax, rather than music that is chosen unilaterally by our medical staff. We ask patients about their favorite songs in advance, and prepare music to match their preferences. Some patients ask for the Beatles or BTS, while Japanese enka music is popular among seniors.
We have also laid carpet in one corner of the waiting room and installed a white piano. At first, we played background music using a JBL speaker, but one day we came to realize the appeal of live music. Now, we have performances every morning by musicians who graduated from music college. Some patients enjoy these performances so much that they visit the clinic just to hear them.
We also pay close attention to creating a comfortable space, and change the scent in each room according to the season, making use of the knowledge of staff members who have passed aromatherapy certification tests. By controlling the smell of chemicals and burning aromatherapy oils that match the seasons, we create an environment where patients can feel more relaxed.

Our clinic is a small organization of around 30 people, but we always think about what would make our staff happiest, with an emphasis on those working on the front line. Rather than taking a top-down approach, we delegate authority to the leaders of each department. In recruitment, emphasis is placed on interviews with team members who will actually be working together with the candidate. We believe that the relationship of being able to trust the people you have chosen to be your colleagues is the foundation for warm healthcare services. We also focus on creating a warm and friendly working environment, because strained relationships between staff members can lead to tension among patients.
At our clinic, we adopt a completely reservation-based appointment system to ensure that we have enough time to spend with each patient. We do not force our staff to follow a one-size-fits-all standard customer service manual. Instead, we encourage them to respond flexibly to the individual personalities and needs of each patient. This gives rise to natural conversations and smiles, leading to the building of trusting relationships with patients.
I have also been participating in medical volunteering activities in Tanzania since 2018. On the ground in Tanzania, there are many cases of blindness due to the lack of access to cataract surgery, which we take for granted in Japan. As a result, we have faced many challenges, such as providing technical guidance and surgical support, and maintaining medical infrastructure and equipment. Although these activities were temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am planning to participate in activities there again this year, for the first time in four years.
If we become satisfied with the status quo, we end up losing sight of what is really needed. While reminding myself of this, going forward, in addition to contributing to community healthcare, I would like to focus on eliminating disparities in international healthcare by doing whatever I can, one thing at a time.