Joint Surgery

1. Specialty Overview

As the National Clinical Key Specialty of Orthopedics of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, the Department of Joint Surgery has been a traditional area of strength of the hospital. It began clinical work in joint surgery from the early stage of its establishment. In December 1968, it completed its first artificial joint replacement surgery. In the 1970s, it performed complex procedures including femoral head replacement, artificial knee replacement, artificial elbow replacement, total hip arthroplasty, and interphalangeal joint replacement, reaching an advanced domestic level. In the 1990s, it gradually introduced imported total knee resurfacing and total hip arthroplasty, as well as minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery of the knee, ankle, and elbow. In 2005, Joint Surgery was established as an independent department and became one of the important subspecialties of Orthopedics. In 2013, with the establishment of the Orthopedic Medical Center, it officially moved to the Laoshan Campus of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University and became an important component of the Orthopedic Hospital. In 2015, Joint Surgery was officially established at the Huangdao Campus. In 2016, Joint Surgery was upgraded to a Level III discipline, comprising the Laoshan Joint Surgery Ward and the Huangdao Joint Surgery Ward, two Level IV departments. At the end of 2020, Joint Surgery was officially established at the Pingdu Campus as a Level IV department under Joint Surgery.

Since becoming an independent department, Joint Surgery has developed rapidly and introduced various new technologies and projects, including robot-assisted total hip, total knee, and unicondylar joint replacement using various robots, including the MAKO robot; complex revision of artificial joints; tumor resection and prosthesis implantation; minimally invasive unicondylar replacement; DAA and BIKINI-approach minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty; minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty through the SOMC approach using a card-type small incision; 3D-printed precise hip-preparation templates to assist total hip arthroplasty; micro-navigation and intelligent spacer-assisted total knee arthroplasty; AI-assisted joint replacement; medial-pivot total knee arthroplasty; CR-type total knee arthroplasty; complex primary total knee and total hip arthroplasty; total hip arthroplasty for high-dislocation DDH; arthroplasty of fused hips and knees; open biplanar osteotomy and corrective surgery of the proximal tibia, performed since 2007; minimally invasive shoulder and elbow arthroscopy; shoulder, elbow, ankle, and interphalangeal joint replacement; arthroscopic ligament reconstruction of the knee; joint-stability reconstruction; treatment of intra-articular and periarticular trauma; and a series of surgical techniques covering all fields of Joint Surgery. The number of operations at all levels has increased sharply year by year. The volume of some surgical techniques has reached an internationally advanced and domestically leading level, with excellent clinical results. In basic research, the department focuses on repair and reconstruction of joint disease and intra-articular structural injury, tissue engineering and gene therapy, the pathogenesis and gene therapy of osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis of the femoral head, and basic and materials-related research on artificial joint prosthesis infection and aseptic loosening, all of which have produced abundant research achievements.

Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, Joint Surgery has achieved leapfrog development in its scale, medical services, professional structure, academic level, talent cultivation, and medical equipment, and has made remarkable achievements in medical care, teaching, and scientific research. At present, the Level III discipline of Joint Surgery comprises three Level IV departments at the Laoshan Campus, West Coast Campus, and Pingdu Campus, with 145 beds. It currently completes more than 120,000 outpatient and emergency visits annually, admits more than 8,000 inpatients, and performs more than 7,800 operations, including more than 7,100 artificial joint replacement and revision procedures. Its annual surgical volume has consistently ranked first in Shandong Province and among the leading levels in China.

The department continuously strengthens the development of smart Joint Surgery and is gradually achieving precision, individualization, and intelligence in joint-surgery techniques. Joint Surgery currently performs a series of robotic procedures, including MAKO robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, and unicondylar replacement; Honghu robot-assisted total knee arthroplasty; Tianzhihang robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty; Jianjia robot total hip arthroplasty; and Hehua robot total knee arthroplasty. These procedures include the first robot-assisted bicompartmental unicondylar replacement in China and the first robot-assisted unicondylar revision in China. Robotic applications also cover highly difficult procedures for high-dislocation DDH, severe valgus knee, fused hip, fused knee, severe flexion contracture, and extra-articular deformity, all of which have achieved excellent clinical results. To date, the department has successfully performed more than 2,500 robotic hip, knee, and unicondylar joint replacements, ranking among the leading institutions in China and far ahead in Shandong Province. In addition, it performs micro-navigation-assisted TKA, intelligent pressure-spacer-assisted TKA, artificial-intelligence-assisted total hip, total knee, and unicondylar replacement, and 3D-printing digital technology-assisted joint replacement and revision procedures, all with excellent therapeutic results.

2. Talent Structure

Joint Surgery currently has a strong talent pool. It has formed a team centered on the department director, with numerous middle-aged and young backbone physicians and outstanding young professionals, and has established well-structured clinical, research, and teaching teams. The department currently has 4 retired professors rehired by the department, 5 chief physicians, 8 associate chief physicians, 4 attending physicians, and 3 resident physicians. All physicians have a master’s degree or above, and 9 hold doctoral degrees. There is 1 doctoral student supervisor and 7 master’s student supervisors; 1 Qilu Leading Talent in Health and Healthcare; 1 Young Expert of the Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province; 2 Qingdao professional and technical Top Talents; 2 outstanding young and middle-aged talents of Qingdao; and 4 district-level talents. At present, department members serve as committee members of the Joint Group of the Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; young committee members of the Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; committee members of the Osteoarthritis Committee of the Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; standing committee members of the Joint Group of the Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; committee members of the Joint Surgery Committee, Osteoarthritis Committee, and Basic Orthopedic Work Committee of the Orthopedic Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; vice chairpersons of the Orthopedic Branch of the Shandong Medical Association; vice chairpersons of Joint Surgery of the Shandong Medical Association; and the institution serving as the chairperson unit of the Knee Joint Committee of the Orthopedic Branch of the Shandong Medical Association. Many members serve as editorial-board members and specially invited reviewers for numerous domestic and international core medical science journals in Chinese and English. Several experts have visited and studied at world-renowned medical institutions in the field of joints, including the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, USA, and ENDO KLINIC in Germany. Several experts have also been invited to give presentations and participate in exchanges at domestic and international academic conferences, including AAOS, SICOT, COA, and CAOS.

3. Professional Features

(1) Artificial Knee and Hip Joint Replacement Surgery

The Department of Joint Surgery of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University is one of the earliest departments in Shandong Province to perform artificial joint replacement surgery. Since the early 1990s, the Joint Surgery team has taken the lead in performing artificial joint replacement on a relatively large scale in the Qingdao area. The department currently performs more than 5,600 artificial joint replacement operations annually and has well-established preoperative evaluation and education, advanced anesthesia measures, postoperative enhanced-recovery protocols, and perioperative management protocols and teams. Operations are short, postoperative hospital stays are short, postoperative pain is mild, recovery is rapid, joint function is good, and the long-term retention rate of artificial joint prostheses is high. It has accumulated an excellent reputation and extensive experience. For many years, the number and quality of artificial knee and hip replacement procedures have ranked first in the province and among the leading levels in China. Since introducing medial-pivot total knee arthroplasty in 2008, the department has completed more than 8,000 such procedures, established the largest MP prosthesis database in China, and attained a leading domestic position. It also began performing unicondylar joint replacement during the same period, covering various types of minimally invasive unicondylar replacement, including mobile-bearing and fixed-bearing implants, and has accumulated more than 2,000 cases, ranking among the leading institutions in China.

(2) Complex Artificial Joint Revision Surgery

The Joint Surgery Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University was among the earliest departments in China to perform complex artificial joint revision surgery. It has complete revision instruments and prostheses, as well as extensive surgical experience, and achieves ideal results in revision procedures caused by severe infection, periprosthetic fracture, aseptic prosthetic loosening, and other conditions, as well as revision after severe bone defects caused by prosthetic loosening. It was among the earliest departments in China to apply custom prostheses, 3D-printing technology, and ultrasonic bone-knife technology to artificial joint revision surgery, achieving good clinical results.

(3) Smart Joint Surgery Technology

In recent years, the Laoshan Joint Surgery Ward has focused on developing a series of domestically leading new smart Joint Surgery technologies. Some of these technologies have filled gaps internationally and domestically and have achieved excellent clinical and social benefits. The smart Joint Surgery technologies developed by the department cover multiple fields. Among them, the Longwell robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty independently developed through medical-engineering collaboration, with independent intellectual property rights, has filled the international gap in robotic operation on the femoral side. The individualized 3D-printed PSI guide system-assisted total hip arthroplasty developed through medical-engineering collaboration has also filled an international gap. In addition, the department has developed personalized 3D-printed implant repair and reconstruction technology; AI-assisted total hip, total knee, and unicondylar replacement; micro-navigation-assisted TKA; intelligent pressure-spacer-assisted TKA; and 3D-printing digital technology-assisted joint replacement and revision surgery. It has also developed a series of robot-assisted joint replacement procedures, such as MAKO robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, and unicondylar replacement; Honghu robot-assisted total knee arthroplasty; Tianzhihang robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty; Jianjia robot total hip arthroplasty; and Hehua robot total knee arthroplasty. It performed the first robot-assisted bicompartmental unicondylar replacement in China and the first robot-assisted unicondylar revision in China. More than 200 MAKO robot unicondylar replacements have been accumulated, ranking among the leading levels in China.

The department has successively established the MAKO Smart Joint Robot Asia-Pacific Training Center, the Longwell Robot China Training Center, the 3D Printing Clinical Research Center, and the Digital Joint Technology Center. These centers have promoted the development of smart Joint Surgery in China and led the development of the era of digital and smart joints in Shandong Province. Through years of effort, Joint Surgery has formed a series of personalized, precise, and intelligent new technologies and equipment for Joint Surgery. Its smart Joint Surgery technology is domestically leading and internationally advanced.

(4) Minimally Invasive Joint Replacement Technology

Over the past 10 years, the Joint Surgery Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University has focused on minimally invasive artificial joint repair and reconstruction technology. In 2015, it completed the first modified bikini-approach minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty in China and developed minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty through the DAA approach in the supine and lateral positions. In 2016, it pioneered card-type small-incision total knee arthroplasty through the SMOC approach, filling an international gap because conventional instruments could not complete total knee arthroplasty through a small incision, and completed minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty in obese adult patients through a 6.8 cm small incision. The introduction of minimally invasive joint replacement technology has achieved better surgical results and satisfaction, reduced surgical trauma, and accelerated postoperative recovery.

(5) Knee- and Hip-Preserving Techniques

For early osteoarthritis caused by extra-articular deformity of the knee, the pressure on the medial or lateral side of the knee can be relieved by adjusting the lower-limb mechanical axis, thereby relieving pain and slowing the progression of arthritis. In the 1990s, Joint Surgery began performing closed-wedge osteotomy of the proximal tibia to treat varus deformity of the knee and achieved good clinical results. In 2007, the department performed the first modified biplanar open high tibial osteotomy in China for knee osteoarthritis and achieved excellent clinical results. Since 2008, it has routinely performed knee-preserving procedures involving partial-compartment replacement, such as minimally invasive unicondylar replacement, including fixed-bearing and mobile-bearing unicondylar replacement, the first patellofemoral joint replacement in Shandong Province, lateral-compartment replacement, and the first mobile-bearing bicompartmental unicondylar and patellofemoral joint replacement in China, among other types of partial-compartment replacement, all of which have achieved excellent clinical results.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head is a common and frequently occurring disease in Joint Surgery. For patients in the early stage of disease, young or middle-aged patients, and those with relatively high physical labor requirements, our department performs various hip-preserving procedures, including core decompression of the femoral head, tantalum-rod support of the femoral head, bioceramic rod implantation, and DAA IBG impaction bone grafting with fibular transplantation. Different treatment measures are adopted according to the stage of the disease, achieving good surgical results.

4. Scientific Research and Teaching

In recent years, Joint Surgery has attached particular importance to clinical and basic research and teaching. It has undertaken 17 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and more than 20 research projects commissioned by local governments and public institutions and enterprises at the provincial and municipal levels; its available research funding exceeds 15 million yuan. More than 400 academic papers have been published in various medical journals at different levels, more than 120 of which have been indexed by SCI, MDL, and ISTP, with an IF of 280 points. It has received 13 awards of various types and levels, including the Second Prize of the Shandong Province Science and Technology Progress Award, the Third Prize of the Shandong Province Science and Technology Progress Award, the First Prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of Shandong Provincial Higher Education Institutions, and the Second Prize of the Qingdao Science and Technology Progress Award. It has participated in the compilation and translation of 10 monographs. It was the first internationally to develop 4 new technologies, including SMOC minimally invasive small-incision total knee arthroplasty and full-process robot-assisted total hip arthroplasty; the first in China to develop 6 new technologies, including Bikini anterior-approach total hip arthroplasty and open HTO; and the first in the province to develop 16 new technologies, including robot-assisted joint replacement and BKA. It has successively established long-term and stable cooperative relationships with relevant institutions in the United States, France, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, and has appointed renowned scholars as visiting professors. More than 10 person-times have studied or visited abroad, making a positive contribution to the development of the discipline.

Joint Surgery attaches importance to clinical innovation and development, medical-engineering collaboration, and the transformation of achievements. Over the years, it has applied for 118 national invention patents and utility-model patents and obtained authorization for 77 patents, including 38 invention patents. Twenty-two patents have been transferred, with a direct conversion amount of 1200000 yuan, and 2 medical-device registration certificates have been obtained. This has improved the capacity for medical innovation and translational application in Shandong Province.

Innovation is upheld in teaching practice. Relying on the National Demonstration Teaching Center for Basic Medicine, the department was among the first on campus to introduce multimedia teaching and bilingual teaching, achieving notable results. Benefiting from the major advantages of a National Clinical Key Specialty, a doctoral degree-granting program, and a postdoctoral research station, Joint Surgery has worked diligently and persistently and has trained a cumulative total of 300 undergraduate students, more than 300 master’s students, and more than 20 doctoral students. It has guided students to actively participate in the Internet Plus Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for College Students, achieving good results.

Adhering to the academic development model of inviting experts in and sending professionals out, the department holds large domestic and international academic conferences and national continuing-education courses every year, regularly selects physicians at different levels for further study at renowned universities and colleges in the United States, France, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other places, and actively participates in international conferences. These exchanges have promoted professional growth, fostered friendship, and advanced academic development.

5. Patient Guide

(1) Department Locations

Outpatient Department

Shinan Campus: Outpatient Building, 6th Floor, Area B

Laoshan Campus: Surgical Outpatient Department, 2nd Floor, Building No. 2

West Coast Campus: Orthopedic Outpatient Department, 2nd Floor, Outpatient Building

Pingdu Campus: Consultation Area 3, 2nd Floor, Outpatient Building

Inpatient Department

Laoshan Campus: Joint Surgery, 8th Floor, Ward Building No. 2

West Coast Campus: Joint Surgery, 16th Floor, Ward Building A

Pingdu Campus: Joint Surgery, 9th Floor, Ward Building No. 3

(2) Consultation Telephone Numbers

Shinan Campus: Outpatient Department 82911262

Laoshan Campus: Outpatient Department 82913158, Ward 82913559

West Coast Campus: Outpatient Department 82919138, Ward 82919538

Pingdu Campus: Outpatient Department 82918803, Ward 82918609