On August 29, Associate Professor Hideki Murakami and his assistant performed a surgery to remove spinal tumors at Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

A doctor at the hospital asked Assoc. Prof. Murakami to lead the operation, because the only way to save the 48-year-old female patient was “Second Generation Total en bloc spondylectomy (TES),” a method that was developed and has been operated at Kanazawa University. Though the condition of the affected area was worse than expected, the eight-hour operation was successfully completed.

Since Kanazawa University concluded the university-level Agreement for Cooperation and Exchange with Khon Kaen University in June 2011, the two universities have been conducting research and academic exchanges. This time, Assoc. Prof. Murakami delivered a letter from President Koetsu Yamazaki to President Kittichai Triratanasirichai. Assoc. Prof. Murakami was given a certificate of appreciation from the Thai Ministry of Education. It is expected that the friendly relationship between the two universities will further deepen in the future.

Report by Asssoc. Prof. Murakami can be found HERE. (Japanese)

Article on this operation at the website of the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University (English)