Ultrasound-guided injections used to benefit orthopaedic patients in Southwest Georgia

ALBANY — Ultrasound guided injections have been part of the focus toward treating musculoskeletal ailments non-invasively and non-surgically in a way that could help prevent problems for a patient later, according to Dr. Kiyoshi Yamazaki.

Yamazaki, a sports medicine physician with Phoebe Orthopaedic Specialty Group and team doctor for many high schools and colleges in the area, uses such techniques. Utilizing ultrasound guidance, cortisone can be injected into joint and tendon sheaths to relieve pain non-surgically rather than blindly relying on feel and landmarks on the joints when doing such injections.

“I tell patients I’m good doing it blindly, but when I open my eyes I’m better,” Yamazaki, one of the five doctors in his practice, quipped to the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital board on Wednesday.

Guiding the needle in real time allows for more accurate precision without the use of magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging. Used to doing it by feel, Yamazaki opted for extra training in ultrasound to help dodge painful scenarios for patients — such as hitting bone or a blood vessel.

“Everybody is different, and after injuries alignment changes,” he said.

“With accuracy, it allows me to go to places not safe to go (blindly). If my injection fails, the next line of steps leads to surgery. If I’m not missing, it’s (time to take) the next step.”

Such procedures benefit Southwest Georgia patients in that they don’t have to travel for such services as many living in rural areas would.

“I’ve done rotations in big cities … for orthopaedic sports centers, this is cutting edge that we are offering,” Yamazaki said.

Sitting on the sidelines for area high school and college games has exposed him to how advancements in sports medicine relates to return-to-play protocol.

“I say ‘no’ daily, but I won’t keep them out one day longer than needed,” Yamazaki said. “My job is to not keep people out of sports, it’s to get them back in.”

Yamazaki earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Pomona College in California. After spending time working as an emergency medical technician in Los Angeles, he returned to school and earned a post baccalaureate pre-med from California State University – Dominguez Hills.

Yamazaki, a Los Angeles native and fourth-generation Japanese-American, arrived in Albany in 2008 when he began his work with the Southwest Georgia Family Medicine Residency Program. Last year, he was one of two Southwest Georgia doctors to be named among Georgia Trend’s “40 Under 40.”

The sports medicine specialist earned his medical degree from the University of Saint Eustatius School of Medicine. He has served as a team physician for more than a dozen school sports teams and two professional sports teams. He won the Southwest Georgia Family Medicine Residency Program’s community service award in 2011, and regularly mentors students interested in pre-med programs, his “40 Under 40” profile said.

He is married to pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Wall. They have an infant son.