was a prominent Japanese neurosurgeon. He was born in Kobe into a long line of physicians originally from

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

. He was a descendant of Chinzan Narabayashi who had studied Western medicine with Dutch physicians at

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...

in the 17th century. He received his medical degree from the

Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

School of Medicine in 1946 and his Ph.D. from Tokyo University in 1955. In the same year, he was appointed Associate Professor, Department of Neuropsychiatry, at the Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1964. From 1968 to 1988, he was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Juntendo University School of Medicine. Although trained originally as a neuropsychiatrist, he is best known for his pioneering work in stereotactic surgery, especially the surgical treatment of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. In 1949 he constructed a stereotaxic apparatus based on drawings of that constructed in the United States by

Victor Horsley Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley (14 April 1857 – 16 July 1916) was a British scientist and professor. He was born in Kensington, London. Educated at Cranbrook School, Kent, he studied medicine at University College London and in Berlin, G ...

and Robert H. Clarke and in 1951 performed the first stereotactic

pallidotomy Pallidotomy is a neurosurgical procedure. It is used to treat Parkinson's disease and some other conditions, often as an alternative to deep brain stimulation. It involves placing a tiny electrical probe in the globus pallidus, one of the basal g ...

on an

athetoid Athetosis is a symptom characterized by slow, involuntary, convoluted, writhing movements of the fingers, hands, toes, and feet and in some cases, arms, legs, neck and tongue. Movements typical of athetosis are sometimes called ''athetoid'' moveme ...

child. The next year he performed a procaine oil blocking of the

pallidum The globus pallidus (GP), also known as paleostriatum or dorsal pallidum, is a subcortical structure of the brain. It consists of two adjacent segments, one external, known in rodents simply as the globus pallidus, and one internal, known in rod ...

of a patient with Parkinson's disease, successfully abolishing the rigidity and tremor symptomatic of this disease. In 1957 he established a private clinic specializing in stereotaxic neurosurgery which became a leading center for both research and treatment. Physicians came to visit from all over the world, and patients came for treatment from many countries. Narabayashi was known for his humility, modest manner, and sympathetic attitude toward students and junior physicians. Dr. Narabayashi lectured all over the world, but perhaps his most memorable trip was to Cuba in 1974 at the invitation of the Cuban Institute of Neuroscience. To his surprise, he was summoned to meet Fidel Castro who was quite interested in medicine. Castro presented him with a box of Cuban cigars on the bands of which was printed "To Hiro from Fidel". He died, not having recovered from the loss of his wife 5 months previously, and was buried in the family cemetery in Nagasaki. He left three grown children, the youngest, Yosuke, also a physician, and a distinguished legacy.

References

*Fodstad, Harald (2001) ''Obituary Hirotaro Narabayashi''. Neurosurgery 48(6):1380. *Ohye, Chihiro and Harald Fodstad (2004) ''Forty Years with Professor Narabayashi''. Neurosurgery 55(1):222-7. {{DEFAULTSORT:Narabayashi, Hirotaro 1922 births 2001 deaths Japanese neurosurgeons People from Kobe 20th-century surgeons