ABOUT OUR CLINIC

New Spine Clinic Tokyo is located in a prime location, directly connected to Nagatacho Station and a 5-minute walk from Akasaka-Mitsuke Station in Tokyo, and is led by Dr. Ken Ishii, a leader in the field of spinal and spinal cord diseases. Dr. Ishii completed his training in orthopaedics at Keio University and worked in clinical and regenerative medicine at Georgetown University and Harvard University in the United States from 2000 for about four years. In 2017, he became the first chairman and professor at the International University of Health and Welfare and a designated professor at Keio University, contributing to the treatment, research, and education of orthopedics and spinal disorder fields. He possesses high diagnostic and treatment skills backed by more than 5,600 surgical cases of spinal and spinal cord diseases. The clinic accurately diagnoses spinal and spinal cord diseases represented by low back pain, stiff shoulders, neck and back pain, neuralgia, and joint pain, and performs treatments for all diseases, focusing on minimally invasive endoscopic treatment. The clinic is equipped with an operating room, an innovative rehabilitation center, and an individual treatment room that prioritize privacy. For surgeries that require hospitalization, Dr. Ishii himself performs them at the clinic's affiliated medical institutions.
Moreover, we offer musculoskeletal anti-aging/ reverse aging medical services, which are rare both domestically and internationally. The musculoskeletal system, consisting of bones, muscles, cartilage, joints, ligaments, and nerves, plays a very important role in supporting and moving the body in daily life. We aim to provide medical services that are a cut above the rest. We are genuinely looking forward to becoming a part of your life and building a healthy future together.

ABOUT　Dr. KEN ISHII

Dr. Ishii, an orthopedic surgeon, has extensive experience in the treatment of spinal and spinal cord diseases and has engaged in numerous lectures and surgical instructions at famous universities and medical institutions abroad. He specializes in caring for patients with cervical disorders, lumbar diseases, ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament and yellow ligament, degenerative diseases, spine tumors, spinal cord and cauda equina tumors, spinal deformities such as scoliosis and kyphosis, thoracic spinal disorders, dropped head syndrome, and so on. Dr. Ishii's policy in treatment is "to prioritize non-surgical methods as much as possible, and when surgery is necessary, to prefer minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgeries that minimize the burden on the patient." Dr. Ishii introduced endoscopic spine surgery in Japan in 1998, and currently possesses exceptional skills in various minimally invasive and endoscopic surgical techniques performed worldwide. Therefore, he performs treatments using minimally invasive techniques for the various conditions mentioned above. His particular surgical expertise includes minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), lateral interbody access surgery, endoscopic spine surgery (including Microendoscopic surgery (MED), Full-endoscopic spine surgery (FESS), etc.), total disc replacement, tumor resection, and CT-based navigation, among others. The Full-endoscopic spine surgery (FESS) conducted at our clinic is an outpatient procedure. If hospitalization is necessary, Dr. Ishii himself will perform the surgery at our affiliated medical institutions. Moreover, based on the treatment techniques for regenerative medicine cultivated during his approximately 4-year fellowship in the United States, it is also possible to receive simultaneously musculoskeletal anti-aging/reverse aging treatments and regenerative medicine treatments, such as stem cell therapy, etc. We provide appropriate and safe treatment based on a wealth of treatment performance.

Our clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities, operating rooms, and innovative rehabilitation center, with a staff of orthopedic professionals led by the director providing medical care. We diagnose and treat a large number of patients not only from Japan but also from abroad. Treatment is available in Japanese and English. For languages other than these, we kindly request the presence of an interpreter.

We ensure a sufficient consultation time of 40 minutes for the first visit, during which we will make an accurate diagnosis and choose the best treatment option based on symptoms, examination findings, and imaging results (please bring your MRI or CT scans if you have them).
*Imaging such as MRI and CT scans can be done at affiliated medical institutions within walking distance.

X-rays
Ultrasound
Computed tomography (CT) ＃
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) ＃
#The imaging will be conducted at affiliated medical institutions within walking distance.

Pharmacotherapy
Trigger point injections, Intra-articular injections, and Nerve blocks
Physiotherapy/Training
Orthotic therapy, etc

The treatment at our Innovative rehabilitation center will be led by Chief Trainer Ryunosuke Urata, who has been working with Director Ishii for over five years. At the center, we offer unique training programs tailored to the condition of each patient, with our medical team fully supporting to ensure definitive results.
Additionally, we focus on the diagnosis and treatment of sports orthopedics. Spinal and orthopedic diseases caused by sports include lower back pain, neck pain, cervical disc herniation, lumbar disc herniation, sacroiliac joint disorder, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, facet joint disorder, ligament ossification, myofascitis, ligament injuries, joint cartilage damage, tendon ruptures, and more. We thoroughly explain the cause, pathology, and diagnosis of the symptoms and propose the most appropriate physical and mentally less burdensome training for each patient at our clinic.

Treatment for dropped head syndrome was considered ineffective through rehabilitation in various domestic and international studies, and surgical treatment has been recommended. For dropped head syndrome, we established a novel rehabilitation program which is called “SHAiR Program” developed based on our experience with over 450 patients. Initially requiring a 2-week hospital stay, this treatment has been introduced as only outpatient service at our clinic, reflecting Director Ishii's desire to "provide patients with the treatment they would want for themselves" and "offer less burdensome treatments." The SHAiR Program includes training to increase neck muscle strength and flexibility and posture exercises aimed at improving overall posture, with one-on-one support from specialized trainers. We typically recommend to keep training for at least 12 times. So far, short-term treatment results have shown an improvement in dropped head symptoms in 92% of all patients (figure).

The SHAiR Program is a unique treatment available only at our clinic, both domestically and internationally. We also perform Botox injections for the cervical flexor muscles, one of the factors causing dropped head syndrome. If you are struggling with dropped head syndrome or have been advised to undergo surgery elsewhere, please consult us.

The musculoskeletal system, consisting of bones, muscles, cartilage, joints, ligaments, and nerves, plays a crucial role in supporting and moving the body in daily life. Recently, the aging of the musculoskeletal system has gained attention in the field of anti-aging/ reverse aging medicine, not just the aging of the skin and internal organs.
Our clinic actively provides musculoskeletal anti-aging/ reverse aging treatments. These treatments include nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) therapy for the musculoskeletal system, treatments for muscle strength decline due to aging, treatments to remove reactive oxygen species, a type of bodily toxin, various nutritional factor treatments that offer antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects to the musculoskeletal system, nutritional factor treatments to alleviate chronic pain, treatments to eliminate discogenic pain, and treatments to improve sarcopenia (a state of reduced muscle mass and strength due to aging). Depending on the patient's condition, these treatments combined with rehabilitation program or surgical treatment would be more effective.

We perform surgeries for various conditions such as lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal stenosis, cervical spondylosis, cervical disc herniation, spinal fractures, spinal deformities, etc. For these diseases, we prioritize less invasive treatments such as minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), Lateral Interbody access Surgery (LIF), endoscopic spine surgery (including Microendoscopic Surgery (MED), Full-Endoscopic Spine Surgery (FESS), etc.), and Total Disc Replacement. Trans-Sacral Canal Plasty (TSCP), FESS, and our original disc repair surgery are performed as outpatient procedures in our clinic's operating room (figure). We also provide safe and optimal treatments for intractable spinal and spinal cord diseases such as cervical and thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, thoracic ossification of the yellow ligament, spinal tumors, extramedullary spinal cord tumors, intramedullary spinal cord tumors, rheumatoid spondylitis, dialysis spondylitis, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), and adhesive arachnoiditis. Dr. Ishii`s experience numbers of the major intractable diseases (from 1993 to 2022) are 423 cases for ligament ossification surgery, 338 cases for extramedullary spinal cord tumors, 125 cases for rheumatoid and dialysis spondylitis, and 174 cases for intramedullary spinal cord tumors. Surgeries requiring hospitalization are performed by Director Ishii himself at affiliated medical institutions. Our patients have access to the most up-to-date imaging technologies for diagnosing spinal disorders and to innovative treatments that are not widely available. Furthermore, since lower back pain and neck stiffness can also occur due to age-related changes, if there is an indication for musculoskeletal anti-aging/ reverse-aging treatment, we will also propose it.

Original review article by Dr. Ken Ishii

Ref) Minimally Invasive Spinal Treatment (MIST)
Ref) History and development of Percutaneous PedicleScrew System