Kyoto University · Medicine
Professor Takayoshi Shimizu's research lab specializes in spinal surgery and spinal biomechanics, with a focus on improving clinical outcomes through innovative implant design and surgical techniques. The lab investigates bioactive spinal implants—particularly TiO2-coated PEEK—aiming to enhance spinal fusion rates and bone integration. It also explores spinal sagittal realignment and the role of lower extremity compensation in patients with adult spinal deformity, using advanced radiographic parameters to guide preoperative planning. The lab's work bridges biomaterials science and clinical spine surgery, aiming to optimize long-term patient outcomes.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
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LIF with indirect decompression for degenerative lumbar disease with severe canal stenosis provided successful clinical outcomes, including restoration of disc height and indirect expansion of the thecal sac. Severe canal stenosis diagnosed on preoperative MRI itself is not a contraindication for indirect decompression surgery.
The TiO2-coated bioactive PEEK implant demonstrated better fusion rates and bone-bonding ability than did the uncoated PEEK implant in the canine anterior cervical fusion model. Bioactive PEEK, which has bone-bonding ability, could contribute to further improvements in clinical outcomes for spinal interbody fusion.
ASD patients with increased CrSVA-H, which represents cranio-hip anterior imbalance, demonstrated a higher prevalence of LE compensation, especially knee flexion, compared to those with neutral and posterior shift of CrSVA. PT represents the extent of LE compensation in patients with spinal sagittal malalignment. Using the cutoff value of PT determined in this study, surgeons can preoperatively estimate the extent of LE compensation without obtaining a full-body radiograph.
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The CT-confirmed fusion rate of OCF was 77.2% over an average 89.7-month follow-up. Compensatory sagittal alignment change can occur in the unfused subaxial segments in conjunction with the alignment change in the instrumented OC segments, whereas the horizontal gaze was maintained. Strong consideration for the intraoperative measurement of the OC2A should be given during OCF to minimize both early and long-term complications.Level of Evidence: 4.
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