EDUCATION

Department of Surgery, Pediatric Surgery

Overview

What the pediatric surgery in Kochi Medical School is aiming for is to provide advanced medical care to improving children’s health in kochi prefecture. The Kochi Medical School is located in the center of Kochi prefecture, which is 170 kilometers east to west and has inadequate highways and public transportation. To improve the convenience of patients and families visiting from far away we have newly established two outpatient sections for pediatric surgery in the western area (Sukumo City) and the eastern area (Aki City). We deliver comprehensive services of pediatric surgery to all over the prefecture.
Pediatric surgery at the Kochi Medical School is performed in cooperation with various departments such as obstetrics, pediatrics and neonatology. More than half of the annual operations are performed by endoscopic surgery from the viewpoint of minimal invasiveness and esthetic. In the outpatient clinics, we are actively engaged in treatment and research of defecation disorders and chronic constipation in children, which have been increasing in recent years.

Research areas

(1) New stool color screening using AI technology

Color card (CC) screening for early diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) has been widely recognized in the world, but on the other hand there are several problems such as BA patients with normal CC diagnosis at the first consultation or color stability by printing. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has excellent ability to distinguish the characteristic of the materials. We developed stool color discrimination system based on AI technology (AI screening) in 2016 and started to use this system for BA screening in March 2019. We investigate usefulness and future potential of AI screening.


(2) The disinfecting effect of Olanexidine gluconate (Olanedine®) in the umbilicus in pediatric surgical patients

Olanedine® is a newly developed disinfectant in Japan. We are conducting clinical research for the changes in the bacterial flora of the umbilicus, the safety and efficacy of Olanedine®.