日本眼科手術学会の前身は，1970年に発足した「眼科顕微鏡手術の会」です。眼科は，他科に先駆けてマイクロサージャリーによる高精度かつ安全な手術を作り上げてきました。1978年に日本眼科手術学会が発足し，2014年からは公益社団法人となり，現在に至っています。本会は，半世紀にわたり，眼科手術を通して「国民の目の健康を守る」活動を行ってきました。

医療はその技術の進歩に伴い，細分化していきます。眼球は10円玉ほどの大きさの器官ですが，その手術領域は角膜，屈折矯正，白内障，緑内障，網膜硝子体といった眼内の領域に加えて，結膜，眼瞼，斜視，眼窩，涙道などの眼付属器や腫瘍や小児などの領域まで含み，極めて多彩です。また，手術手技についても，病変を切り取り，機能を再建する術式の中に，様々な人工デバイスや手術支援装置が用いられるようになりました。近年では，細胞や組織移植の技術応用も拡大しています。

各専門領域では専門家集団が集う領域別学会が，技術の進歩や開発に主たる役割を果たしています。専門家になればなるほど，それぞれが扱う領域は先鋭化します。医療の効率化と一般化を考えると，専門家の育成と並んで，「眼科総合診療医」の育成も必要です。加えて，将来の眼科医療を担う，若い眼外科医の教育も重要な課題です。本会は，眼科手術全般を対象とする学際的な学会であり，国外を見渡してもほとんど例がない，極めてユニークな集団です。本会が提供する領域横断的な情報と意見交換の場は，医療が高度化する現状で，ますますその独自の存在意義が高くなります。

本会の会員は，専門領域だけではなく，アカデミア・病院・クリニックなど，その所属先も多彩です。本会は，そこに集まる医師や研究者が，お互いが持ち寄る技術や情報を通じて，「認め合い」，「高め合う」集団です。本会は，今後も，高度で安全な眼科手術の普及を通じて，国民の健康に寄与していきます。

2026年4月
公益社団法人 日本眼科手術学会
理事長　谷戸正樹

The predecessor of the Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Surgery (JSOS) was the "Society for Ophthalmic Microsurgery," established in 1970. Ophthalmology has pioneered the development of highly precise and safe surgical techniques through microsurgery ahead of other medical specialties. In 1978, the Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Surgery (JSOS) was formally founded, and in 2014 it became a public interest incorporated association, continuing to the present day. For more than half a century, our society has been dedicated to protecting the visual health of the public through ophthalmic surgery.

As medical technology advances, the field inevitably becomes more specialized. Although the eye is an organ roughly the size of a coin, the scope of ophthalmic surgery is remarkably diverse. It encompasses intraocular fields such as cornea, refractive surgery, cataract, glaucoma, and vitreoretinal surgery, as well as adnexal areas including the conjunctiva, eyelids, strabismus, orbit, and lacrimal system, in addition to tumors and pediatric conditions. Surgical techniques have also evolved: alongside procedures that remove pathology and reconstruct function, a wide range of artificial devices and surgical support systems are now employed. In recent years, the application of cell- and tissue-based transplantation technologies has further expanded.

Within each subspecialty, dedicated academic societies play a central role in advancing and developing techniques. The more specialized one becomes, the more focused one's field of practice tends to be. While the training of subspecialists is essential for efficiency and advancement in medicine, the development of comprehensive ophthalmologists is equally important. Furthermore, the education of young ophthalmic surgeons who will shape the future of ophthalmic care is a critical issue. The Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Surgery (JSOS), which encompasses ophthalmic surgery in its entirety, is an interdisciplinary organization that is extremely rare even by international standards. The cross-disciplinary exchange of knowledge and perspectives that we provide has become increasingly valuable in an era of rapidly advancing medical care.

Our members come from diverse backgrounds—not only across subspecialties but also from academia, hospitals, and clinics. Through the sharing of skills and information, we are a community that "recognizes one another" and "enhances one another." We will continue to contribute to public health by promoting the dissemination of advanced and safe ophthalmic surgical care.

April 2026
Masaki Tanito, MD, PhD
President
Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Surgery (JSOS)