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Koga Preface

addressed in this special issue of Mini-invasive Surgery. (Department of Neurosurgery, Chiba Hokuso Hospital,
For example, the initial stage of PELD is a completely Nippon Medical School) and Dr. Manabu Sasaki
blind maneuver. Therefore, anatomical knowledge is (Department of Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery,
imperative (Sakane) along with accurate preoperative Iseikai Hospital, Osaka, Japan) and Assistant Editor:
measurement using radiological data (Kitahama et al.). Ms. Anne Niu. Without their tireless efforts in editing and
In addition, the appropriate preoperative diagnosis personal sacrifice, this special issue would not have
remains extremely important. Accordingly, we asked been published. We would also like to acknowledge
Dr. Kim to submit review article regarding differential our publisher, OAE publishing Inc., for their support of
diagnosis of LDH. From each of these articles, we hope this international special issue. Finally we also express
that readers with varying levels of experience with our appreciation and thanks to the Japanese Spine
PELD can utilize this issue, from the beginner to the Surgical Societies (Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical)
expert who can imagine new operative approaches. and the special communities of these societies (Japan
PED study group, Less-Invasive and Endoscope Spinal
We also have emphasized that the technical Neurosurgery) who deeply recognize the importance of
difficulties associated with this procedure and a lack minimally invasive spinal surgery.
of a steep learning curve. Therefore, strict training
programs under the guidance of expert surgeons Authors’ contributions
is essential for the expansion of PELD. We propose H. Koga contributed solely to this preface.
that the establishment of a training system is the most
important factor for safely disseminating PELD. From Financial support and sponsorship
this viewpoint, we would like to introduce the well- None.
established training system from Japan for orthopedic
surgeons (Dezawa), for neurosurgeons (Mizuno) and Conflicts of interest
from China (Yang). These systems are anticipated to There are no conflicts of interest.
be disseminated to other countries to assist spinal
surgeons with mastering PELD. Patient consent
Not applicable.
We would like to acknowledge various people who have
contributed to the completion of this issue, with special Ethics approval
mention to our co-Guest Editors: Dr. Kyongsong Kim Not applicable.

42 Mini-invasive Surgery ¦ Volume 1 ¦ June 30, 2017