At the Fujita Health University School of Medicine, about 30% of medical students are admitted on the basis of recommendations.To evaluate the performance of these students after admission, a placement test was given to all new students just after the entrance ceremony to examine basic academic abilities.The scores were compared with the number of absences from lectures and with examination results for the first and second years.
1) The 398 students admitted from 2002 through 2005 were classified into three populations: 126 recommended students, 137 students who scored in the top half on the entrance examination, and 135 students who scored in the bottom half.
2) Scores on the placement test were highest for the top-half students, intermediate for the bottom-half students, and lowest for the recommended students.Scores on examinations in the first and second years were highest for the top-half students, intermediate for the recommended students, and lowest for the bottom-half students.
3) The average number of absences from lectures in the first and second years tended to be lower for recommended students than for the top-half or bottom-half students.
4) The examination scores in the second year were correlated with scores in the first year, and the average number of absences in the second year correlated with those in the first year.
5) These results indicate that the motivation of students in each classification to study in the 1st year is, in addition to their basic academic abilities obtained in high school, an important factor affecting their performance in the second year and beyond.

In the present study, surveys regarding the philosophy of learning were administered just after the entrance ceremony to all students entering the Fujita Health University School of Medicine in 2005 and then, once more, to the same students during the last term of the fourth year, so that the data could be subsequently analyzed. The 87 fourth-year students who completed the surveys were divided into 3 groups(top, middle, and bottom thirds)on the basis of their examination scores in the previous years.
1) Results of the fourth-year survey suggested that students in the middle or bottom third did not develop a "learning-centered campus lifestyle" during their 4 years of medical studies, although the first-year survey indicated that most students in all 3 thirds had desired such a lifestyle.
2) The image of a physician had changed somewhat for students in middle or bottom third but not for students in the top third.
3) Attendance rates in all years of medical study were lower for students in the bottom third than for students in the middle or top third. Moreover, the motivation to study and attend lectures showed a downward trend over time for students in the bottom third.

1)We reproduced a problem–based learning (PBL) tutorial at our school and developed our own PBL tutorial, which we call "Fujita–style PBL." This is a clinical problem-solving type of PBL, in which both a monitoring room and small–group learning rooms are used.
2)To maintain the present number of PBL lessons despite the limited number of tutors, one tutor supervises several groups simultaneously. Coordinators observe the progress of PBL from a monitoring room and support the tutors.
3)Students learn the given scenario and identify their learning issues. After they study the learning issues by themselves, the students return to tutorials to explain their learning issues. Thereafter, each group's findings are presented to the groups supervised by one tutor.

1）To learn the techniques required immediately after the start of clinical practice, new residents were introduced to the skills laboratory during their orientation period.
2）We attempted to establish the Yanegawara style, which is an overlapping teaching style in which the second–year residents plan the entire training schedule and simultaneously teach the first–year residents while being supported in their teaching by more senior physicians.
3）Training with the new system resulted in greater rapport among all residents as well as a greater feeling of security among first–year residents.

The patient was a 52-year-old woman who had undergone laparoscopic colectomy with lymph node dissection and inferior mesenteric artery preservation for cancer of the descending colon. Functional end-to-end anastomosis was performed using a linear stapler. Colonoscopy at the 1-year follow-up revealed a type 2 tumor at the anastomotic site. She was diagnosed with anastomotic recurrence. We performed laparoscopic high anterior resection with inferior mesenteric artery dissection. Rectal resection preceded mobilization of the mesocolon because of severe adhesion around the anastomotic site. Laparoscopic surgery for anastomotic site recurrence is an option under the condition that the initial surgery was laparoscopic.

Here, we report 3 cases of conservatively treated ischemic colitis with hepatic portal venous gas. In Case 1, an 84-year-old man visited the emergency department because of fatigue, vomiting, and upper abdominal pain. In Case 2, a 72-year-old man was hospitalized for rehabilitation in another hospital following cervical spine trauma. He had diarrhea and mesogastric pain for 2 days and was transferred to our hospital. In Case 3, an 89-year-old woman visited the emergency department because of upper abdominal pain and vomiting. In all cases, we diagnosed the illness as ischemic colitis with hepatic portal venous gas based on computed tomography findings, and the vital signs of all patients were stable. They were treated conservatively. They were able to resume oral intake and were discharged or transferred to another hospital. Hepatic portal venous gas has been considered a poor prognostic sign of severe diseases such as intestinal necrosis. However, recently, reports of cases treated conservatively have been increasing. Conservative treatment may be selected for ischemic colitis associated with hepatic portal venous gas taking into account the patient’s general condition.

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of open surgery and laparoscopic surgery for acute appendicitis in adults. In 2013, we primarily selected open surgery for acute appendicitis, but in 2017 we opted to select mainly laparoscopic surgery. We compared between 92 patients who had undergone open surgery in 2013 and 88 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery group in 2017. There was no difference in age, sex, body mass index, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, or perforation rate on computed tomography between the two groups. The laparoscopic surgery group had significantly longer operation time but significantly lower blood loss and postoperative complication rate. In particular, laparoscopic surgery was advantageous in terms of hemostasis for moderate bleeding. The results suggest that laparoscopic surgery may be more useful in adult appendicitis than open surgery.

A 14-year-old girl (Case 1) with respiratory distress during exercise was referred to our department after a pancreatic mass was detected by computed tomography (CT). Contrastenhanced CT scan showed a low-density mass measuring 2.5 × 2 cm in the body of the pancreas. Low signal intensity was seen on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI. We suspected solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas and performed laparoscopy-assisted spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful, and she was discharged on postoperative day 13. A 15-yearold girl (Case 2) with abdominal pain and fever was referred to our department after an abdominal cystic mass was detected by ultrasound examination. Contrast-enhanced CT showed a 4-cm well-circumscribed mass. Higher signal intensity was seen on T2-weighted MRI. We suspected SPN of the pancreas and performed laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful, and she was discharged on postoperative day 8. Laparoscopic or laparoscopy-assisted surgery should be considered for SPN of the pancreas.

A 66-year-old, postmenopausal woman was referred to our hospital because of abnormal breast cancer screening results. A tumor was found in the upper outer part of the left breast. Biopsy revealed papillotubular carcinoma, ER (Allred score total score [TS] 3 = proportion score [PS] 2 + intensity score [IS] 1), PgR (Allred score TS 3 = PS 2 + IS 1), HER2 (2+), fluorescent in situ hybridization 1.1 (negative), and Ki-67 labeling index 15%. In diagnostic imaging, the tumor size was 35 mm. The diagnosis was T2N0M0 Stage IIA, luminal B-like breast cancer. First, letrozole 2.5 mg/day was administered as preoperative hormone therapy. After 2 months of treatment with letrozole, the tumor size had increased to 44 mm and preoperative hormone therapy was discontinued. She was started on preoperative chemotherapy (4 courses of epirubicin plus cyclophsphamide followed by 4 courses of triweekly docetaxel). The tumor size decreased, becoming undetectable. After these preoperative treatments, nipple-sparing mastectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and breast reconstruction with a primary latissimus dorsi flap were performed. As of 3 years and 6 months after the operation, there has been no recurrence. At first, preoperative hormone therapy is performed for Luminal B-like breast cancer as in this case, if the response is insufficient, preoperative chemotherapy after hormone therapy may be a therapeutic option.

Primary mesenteric neuroendocrine tumor is extremely rare. Here we describe 2 cases of this disease. Case 1 was a 66-year-old man with a working diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor or mesenteric tumor who underwent laparoscopic tumor resection. Immunohistochemically, the final diagnosis was primary mesenteric neuroendocrine tumor G1. There has been no recurrence as of 25 months after surgery. Case 2 was an 80-year-old man with a working diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor or mesenteric tumor who also underwent laparoscopic tumor resection. Immunohistochemically, the final diagnosis was primary mesenteric neuroendocrine tumor G1. This is recurrence-free as of 36 months after surgery. Several cases of primary mesenteric neuroendocrine tumor have been reported, but most have been treated with open surgery. To date, there has been only 1 case of primary mesenteric NET that was resected in a pure laparoscopic procedure. In all 3 cases (including our 2 cases), the largest tumor diameter was 4 cm. It appears that laparoscopic surgery can be used to treat primary mesenteric neuroendocrine tumor of small size (＜ 4 cm) with minimal invasion.