Crucial role of hand surgery in orthopedic surgery in Japan

It has been a century since the fi rst class in orthopedic surgery was given in Japan. During that time, techniques for surgery of the hand, which have been mainly for patients with traumatic injuries, have steadily improved and have become an important adjunct to the fi eld of orthopedic surgery. However, hand surgery was not clearly recognized as a specialized fi eld in its own right until comparatively recent years. Traditionally, joint surgery for hip and knee joint disorders and spine surgery for lower back pain and spinal disease held predominant positions, and hand surgery was unfortunately hidden behind them. Although a variety of attempts were made by those specialists to highlight the importance of the peculiarities of the hand (e.g., the existence of sensation and the importance of precise motion for quality of life), their efforts were not sufficiently widespread to form a large base of interest. Hand surgery was formally introduced to Japan from the United States after World War II, and it has progressed signifi cantly thanks to the extraordinarily dedicated efforts of our forerunners. On July 7, 1957, the fi rst general assembly of the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand was held at the Kobe Oriental Hotel, with (then) Professor Tamikazu Amako of Kyushu University as the chairman and (then) Professor Daiji Kashiwagi of Kobe Medical College (present Kobe University) as the facilitator. The 50th annual meeting in May 2007, which was hosted by Professor Toshihiko Ogino of Yamagata University, marked the half-century since the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand came into being. The Society has fi rmly established the position of hand surgery as a subspecialty of orthopedic surgery and has produced a number of outstanding hand surgeons. It currently has more than 3000 members; and more than 400 hand surgery specialists have been certifi ed under its own certifi cation system, which was inaugurated last year. The science of hand surgery has been marked by bursts of rapid progress interspersed by periods of slow but steady advances. It should be noted that Japanese hand surgeons have made great efforts to achieve such progress, but it must also be mentioned that many hand surgeons overseas have offered valuable aid and have trained a number of Japanese clinicians. It is commonly accepted, not only by hand surgeons but also by most orthopedists, that the two people who have contributed most to …