Seiji Kakehata, M.D., Ph.D. is best known for his work in pioneering endoscopic ear surgery in his home country of Japan and around the world. He served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine until March of 2023 after which he became Professor Emeritus. In May of 2023, he opened the Endoscopic Ear Surgery Center in the Ota General Hospital in Kawasaki Japan to make TEES more accessible to the wider public. He is also the immediate past Chair of Board of Directors, Japan Otological Society. He is a director of the Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. In addition, he is a founding board member of the International Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (IWGEES) and its immediate past president as well as the president of the Pan-Asia Working Group on Endoscopic Ear Surgery (PAWGEES).

Dr. Kakehata’s clinical interests include minimally invasive endoscopic ear surgery, conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, and facial nerve palsy. Dr. Kakehata’s research has focused on cochlear hair cell physiology and hearing regeneration. His funded research includes the study of outer hair cell motility, effects of cholesterol alterations on outer hair cells, regeneration of the facial nerve, and regeneration of auditory nerve fiber growth and synapse formation after ear injury.

Dr. Kakehata hosted the 4th World Congress on Endoscopic Ear Surgery in 2022 and is the president-elect of the 36th Politzer Society Meeting to be held in 2028 in Kyoto. He organized and conducted the first endoscopic ear surgery courses in Asia and has continued to host an annual hands-on course since 2012. He has delivered numerous presentations at regional and national meetings in Japan, as well as at international conferences and courses, particularly in the field of endoscopic ear surgery.

2019~   Professor in Department of ORL Osaka Metropolitan (City) University Graduate school of medicine

2018-2019 Associate Professor in Department of ORL Osaka City University Graduate school of medicine

2016-2014 Assistant Professor in Osaka City University Graduate school of medicine

Education:

1984-1990 M.D., Osaka University Medical School, Suita

1992-1996 Ph.D., Department of Otolaryngology, Osaka University Medical School, Suita

Professional Experiences:

2009-2012, Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita

2012-present, Director, Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Osaka Rosai Hospital, Sakai

2021-present, Vice-President, Osaka Rosai Hospital, Sakai

Research experience:

1996-1998, Fellow of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst: DAAD), Department of Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Professional Societies:

Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Society of Japan, Otological Society of Japan, Japan Rhinologic Society, Japan Society for Equilibrium Research, Barany Society (Uppsala, Sweden)

Major Interest: 

Otologic surgery, Sinus surgery

EDUCATION

1990-1996 Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan

Awarded the degree of M.D.

1998-2002 Graduate School of Medicine, Yamagata University

Awarded the degree of Ph.D. (Medical Science)

Brief Chronology of Employment

1996- Associate, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata University Hospital

1996- Associate, Department of Otolaryngology, Nanyo City Hospital, Yamagata, Japan

2002- Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine

2013- Chief doctor, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata City Hospital

2015- Lecturer, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine

2017- Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine

2024- Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine

2012- Akiru municipal medical center, Resident

2014- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of

Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Fellow

2020- Fukuoka public health promotion organization, clinical staff

2022- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of

Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Assistant Professor

Saki Takihata, MD, is an otolaryngologist at the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, National Defense Medical College, Japan. Her clinical and research interests focus on otologic surgery, particularly transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) . She has published peer-reviewed articles on surgical anatomy and complications in middle ear surgery, including chorda tympani nerve injury. Dr. Takihata is actively involved in both clinical practice and academic research.

Specialized in otology, with a particular focus on otologic surgery, hearing aids and auditory implants, as well as clinical genetics related to hearing loss.