NTT Medical Center Tokyo provides community-based medical treatment.
We closely cooperate with the community as a regional core medical center.
Our staff members also closely cooperate to provide team treatment.
Our strengths such as early detection of cancer, minimally-invasive treatment,
and emergency treatment enable us to link with our patients,
and we aim to link with people all over the world in the future.
As cancer treatment continues to evolve,
NTT Medical Center Tokyo leads the enhancement of cancer treatment based on early detection of cancer and minimally-invasive treatment.
We also support our patients by providing rehabilitation after treatment and a system for helping them reintegrate into society.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo adopts various treatment methods for removing tumors with minimal invasion.
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NTT Medical Center Tokyo was appointed as a designated cancer hospital for the Jonan region (Shinagawa ward and Ota ward) in April 2010, and provides multidisciplinary treatment of cancer (such as treating cancer with an appropriate combination of surgery, anticancer drugs, and radiotherapy), second opinion outpatient care, and palliative care, etc. We strive to enhance the overall level of treatment as a regional center for cancer therapy by not only providing various in-house specialists but also enhancing links with other medical institutions.
The early detection of cancer requires more than just high-performance testing equipment. It also requires techniques for providing accurate measurement results under any conditions and the ability to accurately determine whether cancer exists from ultrasonic examinations and image data for CT scans, etc., as well as a tissue preparation collected from the patient. NTT Medical Center Tokyo has medical specialists from various fields, including clinical pathology, we strive to achieve early cancer detection.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo employs 117 full-time doctors involved in cancer treatment (current as of September 2017).
NTT Medical Center Tokyo performs endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of early gastrointestinal cancer (cancer of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and large intestine). Since ESD enables a tumor to be excised without the need for laparotomy, it promises reduced sequela and patient burden, and many patients therefore desire ESD treatment. Increasing numbers of doctors visit us to learn about ESD technology, and in 2018 we performed ESD in 922 cases with a 11-doctor system. We also actively work on ESD for duodenum cancer, which was difficult to treat with endoscopy. Our entire team makes continuous efforts to reduce the ESD treatment time as much as possible. I believe that not only does this reduce the burden on the patient, but it also enables us to treat as many patients as possible in the limited time available to us.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo adopted the "da Vinci" surgical assistance robot in 2016. We mainly use it to treat prostate cancer, of which we treated 112 cases in 2018. Performing surgery with robots promises reduced bleeding and pain after surgery compared to regular surgery, as well as reducing the risk of sequela (such as incontinence and impotence) after surgery. We aim to not only treat cancer with surgery using da Vinci, but also enable patients to return to their normal lives after treatment.
Gamma knife treatment is a type of radiotherapy that exposes the brain tumor or vascular malformation to focused radiation (gamma rays) controlled by a computer, without the need for craniotomy. Conventional craniotomy surgery places a great physical burden on the patient and is unable to treat some areas, but gamma knife treatment overcomes such problems and makes treatment possible. Metastatic brain tumors, which are said to affect 10% of cancer patients, dramatically decrease the patient's quality of life by causing convulsions, paralysis, and problems with memory and emotions. Although treating metastatic brain tumors does not necessarily lead to complete recovery, I believe that it is very important from the perspective of enabling patients to enjoy their remaining time as much as possible.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a method for treating liver cancer by inserting an electrode into the abdomen and using the heat of high-frequency radio waves to coagulate/necrotize the lesion, without the need for laparotomy.NTT Medical Center Tokyo adopted RFA in 2006, and it was used in 355 cases in 2018. In cases where RFA treatment is normally thought to be difficult, if the patient is determined to have no other treatment options, we will perform it RFA with the consent of the patient and strive to improve the prognosis. We also spare no effort to enable swift patient acceptance.
With acute diseases such as a cerebral stroke or cardiac infarction,
it is said that the shorter the time between pathogenesis and treatment, the higher the survival rate and the fewer the sequela.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo provides a 24-hour emergency support system to treat these diseases in the acute stage.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo opened its Stroke Unit in 2005 to provide emergency treatment of cerebral strokes in the acute stage.
We maintain a system that ensures empty beds so that cerebral stroke patients that need emergency treatment can be received at any time.
Our Stroke Unit has three main features.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo opened a cerebrovascular medicine division in April, 2017. Our cerebrovascular medicine division links with our neurosurgery division to provide 24-hour emergency treatment, including emergency intravenous administration of tPA in the acute stage of cerebral infarction and cerebral embolism extirpation using a catheter for severe cerebral infarction.
We form teams that include nurses, therapists, and social workers in addition to doctors from the neurosurgery, cerebrovascular medicine, rehabilitation service, and radiation therapy divisions, to provide comprehensive support for patients that includes not only treatment but also rehabilitation and early reintegration into society.
It is important to start rehabilitation for a cerebral stroke in parallel with treatment, from the acute stage, which starts soon after pathogenesis, and thereby enable patients to quickly reintegrate back into society. NTT Medical Center Tokyo has resident doctors in the rehabilitation service division that are separate from the doctors in charge of cerebral infarction treatment. 23 physical therapists, 11 occupational therapists, and 6 speech therapists actively provide rehabilitation from the acute stage (numbers of therapists are current as of April 2019).
Our cerebrovascular medicine and neurosurgery divisions cooperate
to select the most suitable treatment method for the condition of each patient.
Acute stage treatment of cardiac infarction includes stenting using a catheter, which is performed by the cardiology division, and vascular bypass surgery performed by the cardiovascular surgery division. Our cardiology and cardiovascular surgery divisions closely cooperate to select and provide the most suitable treatment method for the condition of each patient. We also focus on cardiac rehabilitation after acute stage treatment, and doctors and therapists at our rehabilitation service division work to provide patients with reintegration back into society early.
With cardiology, it is common for one doctor to be in charge of treating a patient, but at NTT Medical Center Tokyo, 10 doctors are divided into three teams to enable multiple doctors to be in charge of the same patient. This enables us to provide high quality treatment to all of our patients and minimizes the risk of a medical accident occurring. We also hold a conference every day to enable all of our doctors to know the detailed condition of all patients, including those that they are not in charge of. We also maintain a system that enables the appropriate action to be swiftly taken in the event that there is a sudden change in a patient's condition.Furthermore, we also provide safe and high-precision catheter treatment with a system of medical specialists comprised of 3 certified physicians and the medical advisor of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo has adopted OCT (a new vascular imaging diagnosis system using near infrared radiation) to enable more detailed observation of blood vessels affected by disease than conventional IVUS (a vascular imaging diagnosis system using ultrasound). This enhances the quality of acute stage treatment for cardiac infarction, while also allowing the patient's condition to be checked with high precision after treatment.
Cardiac infarction is a serious disease that can lead to death if left untreated, but the rate of death can be dramatically decreased by starting treatment early at a medical institution. NTT Medical Center Tokyo has eight dedicated beds (CCU) for treating cardiac infarction and CCU network links with medical institutions in neighboring areas to provide smooth acceptance of patients that develop cardiac infarction and enable treatment to be started early.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo employs 24 full-time doctors involved in cerebral infarction and cardiac infarction treatment.
Our doctors provide comprehensive treatment that includes everything from emergency lifesaving to rehabilitation(current as of September 2019).
The treatment of cerebral strokes in the acute stage now often involves medical treatment first, but if that treatment is insufficient, we must also consider switching to surgical treatment. That is why close cooperation between the cerebrovascular medicine and neurosurgery divisions is very important for treating strokes. At NTT Medical Center Tokyo, neurosurgeons are always on standby to provide surgery for patients that require it. We also focus on treatment for preventing strokes in addition to acute stage treatment, and we proactively perform cerebral aneurysm clipping of unruptured cerebral aneurysms using a microscope. Our neurosurgery division performed 289 cases of surgery in 2018 (including brain tumor surgery), and provide daily medical care while being constantly aware of how past experience can be utilized for all of our patients.
We handle more than 1,000 annual cases of emergency treatment for cardiovascular diseases such as angina pectoris, cardiac infarction, arrhythmia, valvular disease, and heart failure. In particular, ischemic heart diseases such as cardiac infarction often require emergency treatment. We have a 24-hour emergency support system to provide emergency catheter treatment anytime, even at night or on holidays, and also link with the cardiovascular surgery division to swiftly provide emergency surgery when required. We share the status of all our patients amongst all staff on a daily basis, and this enables us to swiftly handle unforeseen situations, even if the doctor in charge happens to be away. We also strive to enhance regional medical care by creating a network with local doctors, etc., to ensure that patients can smoothly receive care after they are discharged.
The important role of NTT Medical Center Tokyo in community-based medical treatment is acute stage treatment, but we cannot complete treatment alone.
We strive to cooperate with local doctors to accept referrals of patients that require surgery,
hospitalization, or detailed examination, and smoothly return the patients after treatment.
We are also reinforcing our links with at-home (home visit) treatment and nursing/caring, which is expected to increase in the future.
With the registered doctor system we started in 2015,
we now link with over approximately 700 medical institutions and share information related to our medical care.
We also invite local doctors to our clinical seminars and academic lectures and cooperate to increase the quality of medical treatment in the entire region.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo was originally established as a hospital for employees of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, and is still run by NTT East. We consistently prioritize contributing to community-based medical treatment rather than profit.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo is located on the border between different wards, and is closely connected to not only Shinagawa ward, but also Meguro ward, Shibuya ward, and Minato ward. That is why we are selected as one of 80 disaster base hospitals for Tokyo, which means we are responsible for mainly accommodating and treating critically injured patients in the event of a large-scale disaster such as an earthquake.
In 2016, NTT Medical Center Tokyo was selected as one of only 30 foreigner-friendly hospitals in Japan. We have medical interpreters and medical treatment coordinators to enable foreigners that live and work in neighboring areas smoothly able to receive treatment.
NTT Medical Center Tokyo has started a system that enables affiliated medical institutions to register with us.
We closely cooperate with doctors at other medical institutions including local hospitals
based on the "Coordination and Role-Sharing between Health Care Professionals" medical policy of the Japanese government
in order to provide safe and high quality medical care in accordance with our roles.
We ask all of our patients to bring a letter of referral for their first visit to ensure that this role-sharing between medical institutions functions effectively.
Please use the following formats for referrals (patient referral document)and applications for using our CT/MRI devices.
See For medical practitioners and CT/MRI sharing for medical institutions in neighboring areas for details.
TEL: +81-(0)3-3448-6112 (main number)
5-9-22 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku 141-8625