Biography Dr. Sakura Kinjo is an anesthesiologist who specializes in regional anesthesia (injections to relieve or prevent pain in a specific part of the body) and acute pain management. She has served as the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute's anesthesia medical director since it opened in 2009. In her research, Kinjo is particularly interested in pain management. For the past several years, she has focused on the relationship between perioperative pain (pain experienced immediately before, during and immediately after a surgical procedure) and cognitive dysfunction in older adult patients. Her studies include perioperative cognitive changes experienced by patients who have sleep apnea. She is collaborating with her colleagues at UCSF to implement a care pathway for surgical patients with sleep apnea, including by using cutting-edge technology in the perioperative setting. Kinjo earned her medical degree at the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine in Japan. She completed a residency in anesthesia at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a fellowship in pain medicine at the University of California, Davis Medical Center. She joined UCSF in 2005. Role Faculty Location UCSF at Mission Bay UCSF at Mount Zion UCSF at Parnassus Category Clinical Research Specialties Pain Medicine Education M.D., 1994 - School of Medicine, University of Ryukyus Publications Digital Doses: Virtual Reality Use for Perioperative Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Hand Surgery. Angel X. Xiao, Brian Chen, Christopher Chiong, Nicholas H. Lee, Igor Immerman, Sakura Kinjo . Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online . Nov 1, 2025 General Anesthesia Utilizing Laryngeal Mask Airway Ventilation with Low Dose Neuromuscular Blockade is Safe and Effective for Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroscopy. Justin T. Jabara, Jillian H. Neuner, Akash Vasanthan, Pedram Aleshi, Sakura Kinjo, Stephanie E. Wong, Alan L. Zhang . Arthroscopy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation . Jul 1, 2025 Extended reality in anesthesia: a narrative review. Han SH, Kiroff KL, Kinjo S . Korean journal of anesthesiology . Jan 15, 2025 The Role of Antiepileptics for Postoperative Pain Management. Junyong In, Kevin Huynh, Jennifer Luong, Dillon Sooknanan, Sakura Kinjo . Perioperative Pain Management . Oct 16, 2024 A new and simplified extraoral approach for inferior alveolar nerve block: a cadaveric study and clinical case reports. Watanabe K, Tokumine J, Nagase M, Matsumura G, Sawada R, Kinjo S, Yorozu T . Journal of anesthesia . Aug 29, 2024 Postoperative neurocognitive disorders in ambulatory surgery: a narrative review. In J, Chen B, Bae H, Kinjo S . Korean journal of anesthesiology . Apr 3, 2024 Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure Palsy and Vocal Cord Paralysis After Pulmonary Lobectomy: A Case Report. Saito Y, Motoyasu A, Tokumine J, Kinjo S, Nakazawa H, Moriyama K, Yorozu T . A&A practice . Feb 27, 2024 Advances in regional anesthesia for ambulatory surgery. Kinjo S, Chernin T, Siegmueller C, Sharrow CM, Shilling A . International anesthesiology clinics . Nov 22, 2023 Assessment of Perioperative Sleep Characteristics Using Subjective and Objective Methods: A Secondary Analysis of Prospective Cohort Study. In J, Lim E, Kinjo S . Sleep disorders . Apr 21, 2023 The effects of microbiome-targeted therapy on cognitive impairment and postoperative cognitive dysfunction-A systematic review. Sugita S, Tahir P, Kinjo S . PloS one . Feb 7, 2023 Orthopedic sleep and novel analgesia pathway: a prospective randomized controlled trial to advance recovery after shoulder arthroplasty. Cheah JW, Freshman RD, Mah CD, Kinjo S, Lansdown DA, Feeley BT, Zhang AL, Ma CB . Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery . Apr 9, 2022 Rescue Pericapsular Nerve Group Block for Hip Arthroscopy: A Report of 3 Cases. Kinjo S, Zhang AL . A&A practice . Jan 5, 2022 Preoperative Pregabalin Prolongs Spinal Anesthesia in Total Knee Arthroplasty - A Retrospective Analysis Oguz D, Savli S, Kaya M, Kinjo S, Unver S. . Meddiscoveries. . Nov 1, 2021 "The use of bilateral continuous erector spinae plane blocks for postoperative analgesia after right-sided living donor hepatectomy: A feasibility study". Adelmann D, Khorashadi M, Zhou G, Kinjo S, Braun HJ, Ascher NL, Braehler MR . Clinical transplantation . Jul 19, 2021 Virtual reality may reduce anxiety and enhance surgical experience during wide-awake local anaesthesia no tourniquet surgery: A report of two cases. Krish G, Immerman I, Kinjo S . Journal of perioperative practice . Jun 30, 2021 Extraplexus versus intraplexus ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block for ambulatory arthroscopic shoulder surgery: A randomized controlled trial. Harbell MW, Kolodzie K, Behrends M, Ma CB, Kinjo S, Yap E, Braehler MR, Aleshi P . PloS one . Feb 18, 2021 Improved Polyethylene Terephthalate shield and the mitigation of COVID-19 aerosols during airway manipulation Sakai N, Yoshida J, Kinjo S . meddiscoveries J Case Rep . Jan 1, 2021 Modified Wake Forest Type Protective Shield for an Asymptomatic, COVID-19 Nonconfirmed Patient for Intubation Undergoing Urgent Surgery. Kinjo S, Dudley M, Sakai N . Anesthesia and analgesia . Aug 1, 2020 Education and Training: Staff and Facility. Catherine Chiu, Sakura Kinjo . Manual of Practice Management for Ambulatory Surgery Centers . Jan 1, 2020 [Continuous lumbar erector spinae plane block for postoperative pain management in revision hip surgery: a case report]. Kinjo S, Schultz A . Brazilian journal of anesthesiology (Elsevier) . Jul 28, 2019 Continuous lumbar erector spinae plane block for postoperative pain management in revision hip surgery: a report of two cases. Sakura Kinjo, Alison Schultz . Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology . Jul 1, 2019 The effects of transmuscular quadratus lumborum blocks on postoperative pain in arthroscopic hip surgery: a cohort analysis. Kinjo S, Kolodzie K, Dong K, Zhang AL . Journal of anesthesia . Jul 1, 2019 Preoperative Fascia Iliaca Block Does Not Improve Analgesia after Arthroscopic Hip Surgery, but Causes Quadriceps Muscles Weakness: A Randomized, Double-blind Trial. Behrends M, Yap EN, Zhang AL, Kolodzie K, Kinjo S, Harbell MW, Aleshi P . Anesthesiology . Sep 1, 2018 Volatile anaesthetics and postoperative delirium in older surgical patients-A secondary analysis of prospective cohort studies. Kinjo S, Lim E, Magsaysay MV, Sands LP, Leung JM, Perioperative Medicine Research Group . Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica . Jul 27, 2018 Exacerbation of chronic pain after dental extractions in a patient with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Lim S, Kinjo S . Saudi journal of anaesthesia . Jan 1, 2018 Perioperative Gabapentin Does Not Reduce Postoperative Delirium in Older Surgical Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Leung JM, Sands LP, Chen N, Ames C, Berven S, Bozic K, Burch S, Chou D, Covinsky K, Deviren V, Kinjo S, Kramer JH, Ries M, Tay B, Vail T, Weinstein P, Chang S, Meckler G, Newman S, Tsai T, Voss V, Youngblom E, Perioperative Medicine Research Group . Anesthesiology . Oct 1, 2017 Combined preoperative femoral and sciatic nerve blockade improves analgesia after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Harbell MW, Cohen JM, Kolodzie K, Behrends M, Braehler MR, Kinjo S, Feeley BT, Aleshi P . Journal of clinical anesthesia . Apr 29, 2016 Do Postoperative Pain Management Techniques Influence Postoperative Delirium?. Xiaoguang Zhang, Sakura Kinjo . Current Anesthesiology Reports . Mar 1, 2015 A survey of education and confidence level among graduating anesthesia residents with regard to selected peripheral nerve blocks. Moon TS, Lim E, Kinjo S . BMC anesthesiology . Jul 17, 2013 Does preoperative risk for delirium moderate the effects of postoperative pain and opiate use on postoperative delirium? Leung JM, Sands LP, Lim E, Tsai TL, Kinjo S . The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry . May 6, 2013 Does using a femoral nerve block for total knee replacement decrease postoperative delirium? Kinjo S, Lim E, Sands LP, Bozic KJ, Leung JM . BMC anesthesiology . Mar 10, 2012 Prediction of postoperative pain using path analysis in older patients. Kinjo S, Sands LP, Lim E, Paul S, Leung JM . Journal of anesthesia . Oct 20, 2011 Failure of supraclavicular block under ultrasound guidance: clinical relevance of anatomical variation of cervical vessels. Kinjo S, Frankel A . Journal of anesthesia . Oct 16, 2011 Does postoperative delirium limit the use of patient-controlled analgesia in older surgical patients? Leung JM, Sands LP, Paul S, Joseph T, Kinjo S, Tsai T . Anesthesiology . Sep 1, 2009 Unexpected hemodynamic deterioration and mitral regurgitation due to a tissue stabilizer during left anterior descending coronary anastomosis in off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Kinjo S, Tokumine J, Sugahara K, Kakinohana M, Iha K, Matsuda H, Akasaki M, Yamashiro S . Annals of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery : official journal of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia . Oct 1, 2005 Intrathecal morphine, but not buprenorphine or pentazocine, can induce spastic paraparesis after a noninjurious interval of spinal cord ischemia in the rat. Nakamura S, Kakinohana M, Sugahara K, Kinjo S, Miyata Y . Anesthesia and analgesia . Nov 1, 2004
