Remembering Dr. Yasuo Idezuki, F.A.C.S, Professor Emeritus, the University of Tokyo

Dr. Yasuo Idezuki passed away on January 1, 2012, at 77 years old. We are overwhelmed with grief in facing the death of such a great surgeon. Dr. Idezuki graduated from the Medical Department at the University of Tokyo in 1960 and immediately after he entered the second Department of Surgery at the University of Tokyo. In 1966, after graduating from his postgraduate courses, he went to the United States to study in the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. After returning to Japan, he was assigned as professor of the second Department of Surgery at the University of Tokyo. Dr. Idezuki was a worldwide pioneer in the fields of portal hypertension, esophageal varices, and pancreas transplantation. In addition, he introduced the endoscopicassisted surgical procedure in Japan and established it as an important field of surgery. He also instituted the Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery. He was the leader of the