I am pleased to announce that I have been appointed as the 6th Chief Director of the Japan Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Society. As we enter our 11th year since foundation, I am committed to the further development and enrichment of the society.

Our society was established in March 2012 jointly by the Japanese Breast Cancer Society and the Japanese Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with the aim of promoting technical developments and raising awareness of surgery for the treatment of breast cancer and mammary tumors in Japan. "Oncoplastic Breast Surgery" (expressed using katakana in Japanese) is a surgical approach to breast cancer that is performed with curative intent without compromising the esthetics of the remaining breast. Over a period of 10 years, this technique has become nationally known as an insured breast conservation and reconstruction procedure. Its use has also been extended to the treatment of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome.

In accordance with the guidelines established by our society, our system not only registers all cases that have been performed with an approved tissue expander and/or breast implant across Japan but also collects data on postoperative complications. There have been recent reports from overseas that describe the incidence of general malaise and non-breast cancer malignancies associated with the long-term use of breast implants; however, such incidence is rare in Japan and there have been no reports of mortality associated with the use of breast implants.

It is our mission as a society to help as many patients as possible regain their pre-surgery lifestyle with restored breasts and make the people around them feel happy as well.

We look forward to your continued support in this endeavor.

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Past Chief Directors of the Society (honorifics omitted):

First, Hiroshi Sonoo (breast surgery):

August 2012-October 2014

Second, Hiroyuki Ohjimi (plastic and reconstructive surgery):

October 2014-October 2016

Third, Seigo Nakamura (breast surgery):

October 2016-September 2018

Fourth, Hirotaka Asato (plastic and reconstructive surgery):

September 2018-October 2020

Fifth, Koichiro Tsugawa (breast surgery):

October 2020-October 2022

Sixth, Toshiharu Minabe (plastic and reconstructive surgery):

October 2022- Present