Patient Care
- We have special clinics to provide appropriate treatments for intractable skin diseases and cases in need of operation.
Our department provides examinations and consultation on general dermatological problems. We also have special outpatient clinics shown below to provide diagnoses and treatments specialized in each disease.
Bullous disease Clinic / Contact Allergy Clinic / Dermatological Surgery Clinic / Psoriasis Clinic / Biologics Treatment Clinic / Phototherapy Clinic / Atopic Dermatitis Clinic / Aesthetic Dermatology Clinic / Laser Therapy Clinic - We value “correct diagnoses” for assured treatments and we work on our unique diagnostic methods. There are more than 400 types of skin diseases. In comparison with that, there are not so many treatment methods. They are roughly divided into only 20 categories. We often see the patients who visited us as a last resort because they had received various treatments in other hospitals but they did not work. In such cases, there are few cases with problems of the treatments themselves. After seeking the reasons why their problems have not been improved, we often find inaccuracy of the first diagnoses. Thus, we would say that accurate diagnoses play a key role in curing diseases. For that reason, we assign the most importance to “correct diagnoses” on our examinations. In particular, we mainly focus on three methods below.
①Skin Biopsy
We perform “pathological examination” which is a procedure to resect part of patients’ skin lesion (biopsy), observe the samples with microscope and make diagnoses. We directly observe the pathological specimens and discuss what pathological findings are appeared on the diseases with all of us to improve our ability for diagnoses.
②Patch test for each component
Patch test is a diagnostic method used at many dermatology departments to determine which allergen causes contact dermatitis. For instance, when we have patients with skin problems caused by cosmetics, we can identify the responsible product(s) such as skin toners for the allergic reaction as a result of the patch test. However, ordinary patch tests cannot identify specific allergic substance(s) involved in the toner. Thus, if the responsible substance is involved in many kinds of toner, patients may not avoid having skin problems again after changing the toner to another one.
To avoid that, we perform the patch test for each component and identify specific substance(s) which cause allergic reaction. This method is relatively unfamiliar all over the country but very useful to identify allergens precisely.
③Diagnoses of blistering skin disease
We have the Bullous Disease Clinic specialized in diagnoses of and treatments for “epidermolysis bullosa hereditaria” and “autoimmune blistering disease” such as pemphigus, pemphigoid, etc.
Especially for epidermolysis bullosa, which is an intractable disease, an accurate diagnosis is necessary to correctly predict the progression and course of the disease. We conduct not only electronic microscopic examination and fluorescent antibody technique but also genetic analysis to make diagnoses.
- If the result of examinations on skin condition indicates other diseases, we request the patients to immediately see doctors in other responsible departments.
It is said that the skin is the window of the internal organs. Condition of internal organs often appears on the skin surface. When we see patients thinking that they may have skin diseases, we sometimes find internal diseases which the patients themselves have never been expecting. In such cases, we promptly contact other departments responsible for the diseases to provide the patients with treatments. - We value a cooperative relationship with doctors in other hospitals and clinics in our community and pursue better medical care for patients.
Many patients are referred to us by other hospitals or clinics in our community. We hold a clinical conference every week and disclose it to any doctors in our community who want to observe it. This is an opportunity for doctors in our community to learn at first-hand about what is discussed to make the diagnosis and the treatment plan for the patient referred by them. We always make efforts to keep good communication with doctors in our community. Therefore, we can smoothly cooperate with them, for example, we provide accurate diagnoses and treatments for the patients in need of specialized medical care at university hospitals, and the patients go back to see their primary care doctors in our community after finishing the treatment in our department. With regard to our first-visit patients whose symptoms are mild or subsiding, we proactively refer them to other hospitals or clinics in our community and ask them to provide follow-up care.
Number of Patient (FY2020)
Outpatient | |||
---|---|---|---|
Gross Count | 32,482 | Average Daily Count | 114 |
Inpatient | |||
Gross Count | 4,601 | Average Daily Count | 12.6 |
Number of Operation (FY2020)
Operation (Biopsy and Tumor Resection) in Total | |
---|---|
828 | |
Operation performed in operating rooms | |
Benign Tumor (atheroma, lipoma, etc.) | 28 |
Malignant Tumor (basal cell cancer, Bowen’s disease, malignant melanoma, etc.) | 30 |
Non-tumor (lymph node biopsy, minor amputation, etc.) | 12 or more |