Masaki Watanabe (渡辺正毅, 1911 – 15 October 1995) was a Japanese

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

, sometimes called the "founder of modern

arthroscopy Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

". Watanabe developed the first practical arthroscope. Watanabe was born in Nagano and graduated from

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

in 1937. He studied surgery under Professor Kenji Takagi, who, towards the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, had been one of the first surgeons to attempt to insert an endoscopic device into a patient. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Watanabe became director of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Tokyo Teishin Hospital, where he developed early arthroscopes during the 1950s, and, in 1958, he introduced the Watanabe no 21 arthroscope, which was equipped with a superior handmade lens. When top Canadian orthopedic surgeon Robert W. Jackson visited Tokyo with the Canadian Olympic team in 1964, he came into contact with Watanabe, and this was the catalyst for the introduction of modern arthroscopic techniques into North America. In 1972, along with a group of other surgeons, Watanabe was involved in founding the International Arthroscopy Association.The Beginning of the International Arthroscopy Association – IAA
In 1983, he was the recipient of the

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

References

1911 births 1995 deaths Japanese orthopedic surgeons 20th-century surgeons {{japan-med-bio-stub