Respiratory Medicine Medicine | Departments

Greetings
Treatment details
Main target diseases
Main medical achievements
Doctor List

Greetings

Our Respiratory Medicine is staffed with doctors who have extensive knowledge and experience in Respiratory Medicine in general, and who are also experts in areas such as lung cancer, allergies, sleep-disordered breathing, and bronchial endoscopy. Furthermore, in recent years, many enthusiastic young doctors have joined us, creating a system that allows us to meet the needs of patients with any respiratory disease at a high level. At the same time, all of our staff strive to treat not just the "disease" but also the "sick person," with the hope of helping everyone regain a healthy life. Please feel free to visit us at any time.

Director Respiratory Medicine Medicine
Tsuyoshi Oguma

Treatment details

Respiratory Medicine diagnoses and treats a wide range of respiratory diseases, including neoplastic diseases including lung cancer, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory infections, sleep-disordered breathing, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary embolism, respiratory failure, and rare lung diseases. Our goal is to provide safe, evidence-based, and world-class medical care for treatment. We provide accurate and prompt diagnoses, including bronchoscopy, which is essential for diagnosing lung cancer. We work closely with Department of Radiation Therapy of Thoracic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Department of Diagnostic Pathology to implement treatment as early as possible. In addition to diagnostic lung imaging, we also offer a wide range of specialized pulmonary function tests and respiratory resistance tests to evaluate the functional aspects of various lung diseases. We also have a Sleep Breathing Disorder Center, where we diagnose and treat sleep apnea syndrome.

Main target diseases

Allergic diseases such as asthma
Obstructive lung diseases such as COPD
Respiratory infections such as pneumonia
tumor diseases such as lung cancer
sleep-disordered breathing
Interstitial lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis
Pleural diseases such as pleural effusion and pneumothorax
Occupational respiratory diseases such as pneumoconiosis
pulmonary vascular disease, such as pulmonary embolism

Main medical achievements

Asthma and allergic diseases:

Our Japanese Society of Allergology instructors and specialists provide detailed, individualized treatment tailored to the patient's condition, even in cases where symptoms and lung function do not return to normal with standard treatment. We also offer treatment with the latest biological agents, such as anti-IgE antibodies and anti-IL-5 antibodies. We also have extensive experience with related diseases such as allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis, and as a leading facility in national-level clinical research, we are actively working on new diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:

We aim to prevent exacerbation and enable patients to live a comfortable daily life by making an appropriate diagnosis using respiratory function tests, imaging tests, etc., and selecting individualized drug treatments, including inhaled medications, which have rapidly improved in recent years. We also work closely with paramedical staff to provide guidance and management for home oxygen therapy and home mechanical ventilation therapy for patients with chronic respiratory failure.

Respiratory infections:

We diagnose and treat respiratory infections such as pneumonia, pulmonary abscess, empyema, chronic lower respiratory tract infections associated with bronchiectasis, fungal and other opportunistic infections, pulmonary tuberculosis (in cases of negative sputum), and pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease. In addition to empirical treatment (treatment based on the prediction of the causative bacteria), we also perform bronchoscopy if necessary to identify the causative bacteria, and provide appropriate antibiotic treatment based on drug sensitivity. However, since our hospital does not have an inpatient facility for infectious sputum-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases, pulmonary tuberculosis patients with sputum will be referred to a specialized tuberculosis facility.

Neoplastic diseases such as lung cancer:

We diagnose and treat primary lung cancer, metastatic lung cancer, benign lung tumors such as hamartomas, and malignant pleural mesothelioma. For the definitive diagnosis of primary lung cancer and other lung tumors, we primarily perform bronchoscopic lung biopsies. However, for some lung tumors and malignant pleural mesothelioma, we may also perform thoracoscopic biopsies in collaboration with Thoracic Surgery. For neoplastic diseases, we perform the above-mentioned tissue tests (including genetic testing) and a full-body examination, and then determine the treatment plan—surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.—in close collaboration with Thoracic Surgery Department and Department of Radiation Therapy. For primary lung cancer, first-line medical treatments include molecular targeted drugs, chemotherapy using anticancer drugs, and immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors. We select the appropriate medication based on pathology test results and guidelines, as well as the patient's overall condition. The first chemotherapy treatment is administered as an inpatient to fully evaluate the patient's physical function and side effects. However, we actively offer outpatient chemotherapy for subsequent treatments.

Sleep-disordered breathing:

Sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy can cause excessive sleepiness, and insomnia is also a major problem. Sleep apnea syndrome, in particular, is linked to the worsening of many diseases, including high blood pressure, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes, making its diagnosis and treatment increasingly important. At the Sleep Breathing Disorder Center, we offer portable PSG, short-term hospitalization for detailed examinations, and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (n-CPAP) therapy for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea syndrome. Please note that we do not currently provide treatment for sleep disorders other than sleep apnea syndrome (such as narcolepsy).

Interstitial lung disease:

We provide reliable diagnosis of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia as typified by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and their acute exacerbations/acute respiratory failure, as well as interstitial lung diseases such as interstitial pneumonia associated with collagen diseases, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, drug-induced lung injury, eosinophilic pneumonia, and sarcoidosis, by imaging diagnosis using high-resolution CT, bronchoscopic lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, thoracoscopic lung biopsy in close collaboration with . We provide reliable diagnosis and appropriate treatment for interstitial lung diseases such as drug-induced lung injury, eosinophilic pneumonia, and sarcoidosis by imaging diagnosis using high-resolution CT, bronchoscopic lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and thoracoscopic lung biopsy in close collaboration with Thoracic Surgery, including new therapeutic agents. We try to provide easy-to-understand explanations for patients who are unfamiliar with the names of many diseases.

Bronchoscopy:

Approximately 600 bronchoscopies are performed annually and are used to diagnose malignant lung tumors, diffuse lung diseases such as interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary mycobacteriosis, and other lung infections of unknown cause. In addition to the latest diagnostic techniques such as lung biopsy using an ultrasound probe (EBUS-GS) and needle biopsy using an ultrasound bronchoscope (EBUS-TBNA), we also perform therapeutic procedures such as endobronchial occlusion (EWS), laser treatment for bronchial tumors, removal of bronchial foreign bodies, and stent insertion for tracheal stenosis performed by specialists/instructors of the Japan Society for Respiratory Endoscopy.

Doctor List

Department Head: Tsuyoshi Oguma
Chief of Ward 9A: Naoki Hashiyama

Clinical department URL: https://www.fuzoku-hosp.tokai.ac.jp/service/kokyu-naika/
　　　　　　http://kokyuki.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/

Outpatient: 0463 (93) 1121 extension 6201, 6202

Professor Koichiro Asano

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Society of Allergology / Certified internist and instructor of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Certified oncologist by the Japan Cancer Therapy Organization
Specialized Areas	Severe asthma, interstitial pneumonia, rare respiratory diseases (LAM, etc.)
Outpatient medical day	Wednesday and Thursday

Professor Tsuyoshi Oguma

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist and instructor of the Japanese General Internal Medicine / Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Society of Allergology / Certified oncologist by the Japanese Board of Cancer Therapy
Specialized Areas	Bronchial asthma, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Outpatient medical day	Tuesday and Friday

Associate Professor Yoko Ito

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist General Internal Medicine, Japanese Society of Internal Medicine, Specialist in the Japanese Respiratory Society, Specialist in the Japanese Society for Respiratory Endoscopy, Certified Smoking Cessation Instructor by the Japan Society for Tobacco Control
Specialized Areas	Respiratory diseases in general
Outpatient medical day	Monday and Tuesday

Lecturer: Naoki Hayama

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist and instructor of bronchoscopy at the Japanese Society of Respiratory Endoscopy / Specialist and instructor General Internal Medicine at the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Certified oncologist at the Japan Board of Certified Oncologists
Specialized Areas	Diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer
Outpatient medical day	Wednesday and Friday

Lecturer: Tomomatsu Katsuyoshi

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist General Internal Medicine of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Specialist and instructor of Bronchoscopy of the Japanese Society of Respiratory Endoscopy / Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Society of Allergology / Certified oncologist by the Japanese Board of Cancer Therapy
Specialized Areas	Bronchial asthma, lung cancer, sleep apnea syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Outpatient medical day	Mondays and Wednesdays

Lecturer: Hiroto Takiguchi

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist General Internal Medicine of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Certified Cancer Therapist by the Japan Cancer Therapy Board / Specialist in Bronchoscopy by the Japanese Society for Respiratory Endoscopy
Specialized Areas	Respiratory diseases in general
Outpatient medical day	Friday

Lecturer Jun Tanaka

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist General Internal Medicine of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Specialist in Bronchoscopy of the Japanese Society for Respiratory Endoscopy
Specialized Areas	Respiratory diseases in general
Outpatient medical day	Monday (PM)

Lecturer Yukihiro Horio

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Japanese Respiratory Society Specialist / Japanese Society of Internal Medicine Certified Internist
Specialized Areas	interstitial pneumonia
Outpatient medical day	Thursday (AM)

Assistant Professor Naoki Okada

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Japanese Respiratory Society Specialist / Japanese Society of Internal Medicine Certified Internist
Specialized Areas	Respiratory diseases in general
Outpatient medical day	Monday (PM)

Assistant Professor Kai Yamazaki

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Outpatient medical day	Tuesday (PM)

Assistant Professor Kohei Umemoto

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist in Internal Medicine, Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
Outpatient medical day	Wednesday (PM)

Assistant Professor Mika Urata

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist in Internal Medicine, Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
Outpatient medical day	Thursday (AM)

Michiyasu Otaka, Clinical Assistant

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Outpatient medical day	Friday (PM)

Professor Tetsuya Urano (Medical Education)

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist and instructor of the Japanese General Internal Medicine Medicine / Tuberculosis and Mycobacteria instructor of the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis / Japan Respiratory Care and Rehabilitation Instructor
Specialized Areas	Respiratory management and pulmonary circulation in intensive care
Outpatient medical day	Thursday

Professor Kei Takeshita (Medical Ethics)

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist General Internal Medicine of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Specialist and instructor of Bronchoscopy of the Japanese Society for Respiratory Endoscopy
Specialized Areas	Respiratory diseases in general
Outpatient medical day	Monday (AM)

Hiromi Tomomatsu, Assistant Professor (Palliative Medicine)

Specialization	Respiratory disease
Specialist	Specialist of the Japanese Respiratory Society / Specialist and Supervising Doctor General Internal Medicine at the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine / Specialist of the Japanese Society of Allergology / Certified Cancer Therapist by the Japanese Organization for Certified Cancer Therapists
Specialized Areas	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, bronchial asthma
Outpatient medical day	Tuesday (AM)