Cardiovascular Surgery

I. Department Overview

The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery was founded in the 1970s. It was approved as a master's degree conferral site in 1996 and a doctoral degree conferral site in 2006. Through more than 30 years of persistent effort and exploration by numerous experts and professors, it has developed into a cardiovascular surgery department with a well-structured talent team and a rational professional profile, whose overall strength in medical care, education and research ranks among the most advanced in China and is well known at home and abroad. It is a Key Clinical Discipline of Shandong Province, the largest center for the surgical treatment and research of cardiovascular diseases in eastern Shandong Province and a characteristic discipline of Qingdao, undertaking the rescue and treatment of patients with cardiac and great vessel diseases and their critical illnesses in Qingdao and the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Since 2013, under the leadership of Director Yang Sumin (杨苏民), the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery has developed rapidly. At present, Inpatient Ward A has 33 beds, Inpatient Ward B has 26 beds and the intensive care unit has 27 beds, all with advanced facilities that rank among the leading ones in China. The West Coast Campus has 48 beds. More than 1,300 operations are performed annually, of which critical, complex and advanced-age operations account for over 40%, with an operative mortality rate below 2%, ranking among the leading levels in China. The department has pioneered dozens of new operations and new techniques at the national, provincial and Qingdao municipal levels. In particular, with the development of minimally invasive surgery covering different fields of surgical treatment such as coronary heart disease, complex congenital heart disease, acquired valvular disease and great vessel disease, its technical level has become increasingly refined and the number of operations keeps growing day by day. The department holds a leading position in Shandong Province in the surgical treatment of various complex cardiovascular diseases, has entered the advanced ranks nationwide, and its minimally invasive surgery has outstanding influence across the country.

II. Talent Team

The department implements two-way selection, talent mobility, full-staff appointment and a post-based target responsibility system. The department currently has 149 medical and nursing staff, including 5 professors, 6 associate professors, 10 staff members with intermediate professional titles, 7 holders of doctoral degrees and 10 holders of master's degrees; 4 full-time perfusionists; 5 intensive care physicians; and 144 nurses, of whom 55 are intensive care nurses, 65% hold bachelor's degrees, and 20 are nurses-in-charge.

Chief physicians: 杨苏民 (Yang Sumin), 张平 (Zhang Ping), 常青 (Chang Qing)

Associate chief physicians: 高洪波 (Gao Hongbo), 李贞福 (Li Zhenfu), 江磊 (Jiang Lei), 王士忠 (Wang Shizhong), 王福和 (Wang Fuhe), 涂寒剑 (Tu Hanjian)

Attending physicians: 郝传吉 (Hao Chuanji), 潘玉柱 (Pan Yuzhu), 王伟 (Wang Wei), 刘国栋 (Liu Guodong), 刘旭 (Liu Xu), 于仁斌 (Yu Renbin), 吴玉辉 (Wu Yuhui), 王涛 (Wang Tao), 杨林山 (Yang Linshan), 林冠军 (Lin Guanjun)

Nurses-in-charge: 程华伟 (Cheng Huawei), 李欣晖 (Li Xinhui), 王艳丽 (Wang Yanli), 曲巍立 (Qu Weili), 予宁宁 (Yu Ningning), 王宁 (Wang Ning), 吴淑芳 (Wu Shufang), 张景侠 (Zhang Jingxia), 王坤 (Wang Kun), 纪晓婷 (Ji Xiaoting), 陆岩 (Lu Yan), 尚全伟 (Shang Quanwei), 王志鹏 (Wang Zhipeng), among others

III. Specialty Features

(1) Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery has fully entered the era of minimally invasive surgery, having successively carried out various minimally invasive procedures through small incisions, thoracoscopy and the da Vinci robot. In 2015, it ranked 2nd nationwide in the volume of da Vinci robot cardiac operations; its volume of robotic mitral valve replacement under the da Vinci robot ranked 1st in the country; and in 2016 its da Vinci robot operation volume ranked 1st nationwide. In 2015 and 2016, its surgical volume for aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm ranked first in Shandong Province for two consecutive years. It has also successively carried out many new techniques, such as: coronary artery bypass grafting with continuous sliding suture technique under the da Vinci robot (only three people in the world have mastered this technique); the world's first da Vinci robotic coronary artery bypass grafting combined with ventricular aneurysm resection; robotic valve replacement for infective endocarditis in an advanced-age patient (81 years old, the highest age reported for this type of operation to date); right mini-thoracotomy mitral valve replacement, tricuspid valvuloplasty, double valve replacement, and reoperative minimally invasive valve replacement; upper hemisternotomy mini-incision Bentall procedure; left anterolateral mini-thoracotomy coronary artery bypass grafting; surgical treatment of chronic pulmonary artery embolism, ventricular septal perforation after acute myocardial infarction and other diseases; as well as new techniques such as bloodless cardiac surgery, high-hemoglobin cardiopulmonary bypass technology, preoperative platelet separation and blood salvage, filling a number of technical gaps in Shandong Province.

(2) Cardiac Disease and Perioperative Intensive Care

The intensive care unit of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery continues to strengthen its specialized development. In addition to the monitoring and treatment of patients undergoing routine cardiovascular surgical operations, the unit also carries out the treatment of various types of end-stage heart failure, including bedside continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support (ECMO) and support therapy for various organs.

(3) Heart Transplantation

In 2016, the department successfully performed 6 adult heart transplantations, filling the gap in heart transplantation in Qingdao. It has developed a donor-centered, recipient-transfer treatment model for heart transplantation, greatly shortening the myocardial cold ischemia time caused by donor transport, with rapid early postoperative recovery and remarkable results. At the same time, it has introduced the techniques and concepts of enhanced recovery after surgery, establishing workflows such as fast-track anesthesia for cardiovascular surgery, early postoperative extubation and early mobilization, shortening postoperative hospital stays and reducing treatment costs.

(4) Surgical and Interventional Treatment of Congenital Heart Disease

In 2005, the department was the first in the province to successfully perform the arterial switch operation (Switch procedure) for complete transposition of the great arteries, with ideal surgical results. The youngest patient was only 4 days after birth, the youngest case of successful open-heart surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass ever performed in Qingdao. The department routinely performs surgical treatment of various congenital heart diseases, achieving a high correction rate and low mortality for complex malformations such as tetralogy of Fallot, double-outlet right ventricle and double-outlet left ventricle, transposition of the great arteries, persistent truncus arteriosus, pulmonary atresia, tricuspid atresia, complete endocardial cushion defect, total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage, Taussig-Bing anomaly and Ebstein's anomaly, reaching an advanced national level. At present, it routinely performs interventional occlusion treatment for congenital heart disease, such as patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect and pulmonary valve stenosis, with less trauma and faster recovery for patients.

(5) Surgical and Interventional Treatment of Great Vessel Diseases

Thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissecting aortic aneurysm are acute, dangerous, critical and complex conditions that can cause the patient's death within a short time. Because the operations are complex and the mortality rate is high, they have always been challenging work in the field of cardiac and great vessel surgery. In recent years, the department has made breakthrough progress in the diagnosis and surgery of these diseases. It was the first in the province to perform total aortic arch replacement with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, selective perfusion of the right subclavian artery and cerebral protection, and it routinely performs replacement of the aortic root and of the aortic arch — hemiarch and total arch — with artificial blood vessels, reaching an advanced national level. In 2003, it was the first in Qingdao to perform endovascular stent-graft exclusion for aortic dissection and thoracic aortic aneurysm. At present it routinely performs hybrid surgical treatment of aortic dissection, reducing surgical risks and complications. Currently, its great vessel interventional treatment technology ranks among the top in Shandong Province in both case volume and technical level, reaching an advanced national level.

(6) Surgical Treatment of Valvular Heart Disease

As a characteristic specialty for the treatment of valvular disease in Qingdao, the department's cardiac valve surgery has strong technical capabilities and has accumulated rich experience in treating all kinds of clinical valvular disease, including single valve, double valve and triple valve replacement. It was the first in China to perform pulmonary autograft transplantation for aortic regurgitation (Ross procedure) and aortic root replacement with preservation of the aortic valve (David procedure). The short- and long-term results of various annuloplasty and valvuloplasty procedures are satisfactory, and the department has become the valve disease treatment center of eastern Shandong Province.

(7) Surgical Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease

As one of the units in China that carried out coronary artery bypass grafting relatively early, the department's coronary artery bypass grafting, minimally invasive off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and total arterial revascularization reach an advanced national level. At present, more than 200 bypass operations are performed each year, the highest volume in the province, with a mortality rate below 1%; it has achieved more than 200 consecutive bypass operations without a death, a level that leads the province. In 2000, it performed China's first coronary artery bypass grafting combined with left ventricular reduction surgery for the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy. In 2001, it performed China's first coronary artery bypass grafting combined with ventricular aneurysm resection and left ventricular geometric reconstruction, actively searching for surgical treatments for end-stage heart disease other than heart transplantation. In recent years, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting performed concomitantly with bipolar radiofrequency ablation for coronary heart disease combined with atrial fibrillation has filled a gap in the province, at a level leading the country.

(8) Radiofrequency Ablation

At present, the department routinely performs the modified Maze radiofrequency ablation procedure for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and is one of the earliest units in China to carry out this operation, performing radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation concomitantly with cardiac surgical operations. More than 1,000 such operations have been performed with satisfactory results, at an advanced national level. In recent years, it has carried out minimally invasive standalone atrial fibrillation surgery (mini-Maze procedure), relieving the suffering of large numbers of patients troubled by atrial fibrillation.

IV. Medical Technology

At present, more than 1,300 operations are performed annually, of which critical, complex and advanced-age operations account for over 40%, with an operative mortality rate below 2%, ranking among the leading levels in China. The department has pioneered dozens of new operations and new techniques at the national, provincial and Qingdao municipal levels. In particular, with the development of minimally invasive surgery covering different fields of surgical treatment such as coronary heart disease, complex congenital heart disease, acquired valvular disease and great vessel disease, its technical level has become increasingly refined and the number of operations keeps growing day by day. The department holds a leading position in Shandong Province in the surgical treatment of various complex cardiovascular diseases, has entered the advanced ranks nationwide, and its minimally invasive surgery has outstanding influence across the country.

V. Research and Education

The department currently has more than 10 research projects in progress, with research funding of several hundred thousand yuan, including 1 project of the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, 2 projects of the Shandong Provincial Health Department, 5 projects of the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, 1 major hospital bidding project and 1 domestic horizontal cooperation project. It has won the Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Achievements of the Shandong Provincial Education Department and the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress of Qingdao University. It has published more than 100 papers in Chinese core journals, including 20 papers indexed in SCI, has translated Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery as chief translator, and has participated in compiling four monographs such as Practical Thoracic Surgical Operative Surgery, Cardiac Surgical Operative Techniques, Cardiac Surgery Operative Science and Cardiac Surgery.

The department undertakes the teaching of undergraduate students in cardiovascular surgery as well as clinical clerkship and internship work. It trains 2-4 graduate students each year, strengthens the "three basics and three stricts" training of residents, enforces strict management, strengthens education in medical ethics and conduct, strengthens research capability training, improves residents' foreign language proficiency, and further improves the specialist training system for cardiac surgery physicians, with lectures every month and regular assessments. Young physicians are regularly sent to Beijing Fuwai Hospital, Anzhen Hospital and the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the Shanghai Children's Medical Center to study cardiac surgery techniques.

The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery actively strengthens academic exchanges at home and abroad, having established good cooperative relations with well-known cardiac centers such as The Prince Charles Hospital in Australia, the Adelaide Hospital in South Australia, the Methodist Hospital of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, USA, the New York State Hospital in the USA, Yonsei University in South Korea, the German Heart Center Berlin in Germany, the Hospital of Tokyo Women's Medical University in Japan, Beijing Fuwai Hospital, Anzhen Hospital and the Guangzhou Cardiovascular Hospital, and regularly invites experts from home and abroad to the hospital for exchanges. It has also sent medical staff in multiple batches to major cardiac centers at home and abroad for advanced study, gradually establishing international cooperation between departments.

VI. Visitor Guide

(1) Department Location

Shinan Campus Outpatient Clinic: 6th floor, Outpatient Building, No. 16 Jiangsu Road

Shinan Campus Inpatient Wards: 3rd floor (Ward A) and 6th floor (Ward B), Second Inpatient Building, No. 16 Jiangsu Road

West Coast Campus Inpatient Wards: 11th floor, Building A, Inpatient Building, No. 1667 Wutaishan Road

(2) Consultation Telephones

Shinan Campus Outpatient Clinic: 0532-82911206

Shinan Campus Inpatient Wards: 0532-82911011 (Ward A), 0532-82912613 (Ward B)

West Coast Campus Inpatient Wards: 0532-82919519