Dr. Katsuya Takasu, General Director of Ginza Takasu Clinic

It's interesting because we do things that no one else has done before

General Director of Ginza Takasu Clinic, Doctor of Medicine Katsuya Takasu(Takasu Katsuya)

Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1945. Doctor of Medicine. Graduated from Showa University School of Medicine and completed the doctoral course at the same university's Graduate School of Medicine. A pioneering cosmetic surgeon, he has obtained patents for numerous procedures, including "thread for double eyelid formation" and "liposuction surgery," and introduced the world's latest cosmetic surgery techniques to Japan. He has been awarded the Order of Merit in Gold and the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon. He is one of the most widely known cosmetic surgeons in Japan, and is known for his slogan, "YES Takasu Clinic."

My family is a family of doctors with a 400-year history. All the heads of the family were destined to become doctors. I actually wanted to be a manga artist, but I was told to at least get my medical license, so I entered the medical school at Showa University.

During my undergraduate years, I spent a year at graduate school to earn my doctorate. I chose to specialize in orthopedics, a field not shared by anyone in my family. At university, I joined a hypnosis research group and studied hypnosis. During my research, I became interested in "phantom limbs," the perception that an amputated limb remains, and decided to write a paper on the subject. My paper suggested that there are sensory regions in the brain that disappear when hypnotized. In my first year of graduate school, my paper was published in a medical journal, and I was recognized and able to receive my doctorate. During my four years at graduate school, I continued to study at university while also working part-time at the Railway Central Hospital and the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital, studying traffic injuries and other topics. Since this field was not offered at Showa University, I was free to go and study, saying that I was a student and needed to do so.

I was interested in researching the creation of artificial joints, but I couldn't do it because the orthopedic department at Showa University didn't incorporate it. In my second year of graduate school, I had the opportunity to be an exchange student with Kiel University in Germany, and I decided to study abroad. Kiel University is a top university for artificial joints. One day, I had the opportunity to observe a surgery by a doctor who was said to be a master of artificial joints, and I saw a nose job. I was deeply moved at the time, thought, "There's a world like this," and became fascinated by the fascinating world of orthopedic surgery. I thought that if I could master this technique, I could become a leading expert in Japan.

◾️Takasu Clinic opens

After returning to Japan, he was dissatisfied with the medical system, which was set up so that it was more profitable for patients to stay hospitalized for longer than for them to recover quickly, so he opened Takasu Clinic, a private cosmetic surgery clinic in Nagoya.

When I told my uncle I wanted to practice cosmetic surgery, he was furious. At the time, cosmetic surgery was a field that was like a hotbed of third-rate doctors who had failed as doctors, and he even said, "It would be embarrassing for a doctor who cuts into people who aren't sick to come from the Takasu family!" However, I told him, "In the future, medicine will be able to cure a variety of illnesses, and eventually we will live in a world without illness, and an era will surely come when people will desire beauty and youth. This is why cosmetic surgery is a medical field with a lot of potential for growth!" and I went ahead and opened my clinic despite his opposition.

One day, I published a beauty book called "Dangerous Beauty Methods." At the time, there weren't many books on cosmetic surgery, so I started getting more and more calls from TV stations because I was a doctor who could talk about cosmetic surgery. Many celebrities started coming to see me as a client. I ended up with 13 clinics across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and two in Hawaii, and before I knew it, I had become an expert in cosmetic surgery.

◾️ Cosmetic medicine is medical care that pursues happiness

In terms of job satisfaction, I find it interesting because I can experiment using my own body and face. Right now, I'm working hard on cancer treatment, and I'm performing challenging treatments myself. I like doing things that no one else has done before.

I'm the origin of most of the cosmetic surgeries that are popular in Japan right now and that everyone is making money from. I was the one who introduced liposuction to Japan, and I also invented the no-incision double eyelid procedure using thread. If you invent various things and present them at academic conferences, others will try to replicate them. That's why I started getting patents along the way. I got a patent for the thread used to create double eyelids, and also a patent for using thread to lift the face. The same goes for the patent for the ultrasound liposuction device. These are all approved by the Patent Office, so it remains public knowledge that I am the originator of all of them. In fact, I'm the one who popularized cosmetic surgery not only in Japan but also in Korea.

The fun part about my job is being able to make unexpected history. In the medical field, it's fun because I can do my own experiments. I've had plastic surgery on almost my entire body, so I don't have any original parts. Current cancer treatments are also interesting.

Cosmetic medicine is a type of tertiary medicine. First-class medicine is curative medicine that cures illness, second-class medicine is preventive medicine that prevents illness, and third-class medicine is medicine that pursues happiness, regardless of prevention or treatment. So, although cosmetic medicine is a very small field, I believe it is a field that will continue to grow in the future, because desire is limitless.

◾️Message

I've seen many people who set their sights on getting into university only to burn out after they get there and not achieve great things. You may not be able to enjoy campus life now, but it's your last chance to do whatever you want. It's a good way to detoxify yourself by doing all the things you won't be able to do once you enter the workforce while you're a student. People who were good kids didn't achieve great things. I think that people who did questionable things in the previous era are the winners of the next era.

Student Newspaper Special Edition July 1, 2022 Issue by Nihon University Graduate Kaisei Tsujiuchi