Orthopedics · Spine Surgery

China-Japan Friendship Hospital Orthopedics was established in 1984. As a branch of our hospital’s leading Orthopedics discipline, Orthopedics·Spine Surgery was established in 2009, when the Upper Cervical Spine Disease Center was also established in the department. After years of effort, in November 2017 the hospital established the Cervical Spine Disease Research Center of the National Famous Doctors and Famous Prescriptions Key Laboratory and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital Upper Cervical Spine Medical Alliance, further enhancing the department’s national reputation and influence. The current director is Professor Yi Ping and the head nurse is Hao Qingying. The department has 14 physicians, 1 technician and 18 nurses, including 4 chief physicians, 1 expert receiving a State Council government allowance and serving as a doctoral supervisor, and 3 graduate supervisors; 4 associate chief physicians, 5 attending physicians and 1 resident physician. Seven physicians hold doctoral degrees and seven hold master’s degrees. All physicians at associate-chief level or above have studied or worked abroad.

Outpatient and inpatient facilities: At the main hospital, outpatient clinics are provided by nationally renowned experts Tan Mingsheng, Li Zhongshi, Yi Ping and Liang Li, with daily specialist clinics by chief and associate chief physicians and a general orthopedics clinic. Special clinics are also available for cervical spondylosis, minimally invasive spine surgery and cervicogenic vertigo. Orthopedic specialist and general clinics are additionally provided in the North District, West District and International Medical Department. There is one spinal and spinal-cord function examination room and one treatment room.

Diagnostic and treatment equipment: The department has one ZEISS Kinevo 900 surgical microscope, one Ziehm 3D C-arm, three C-arm fluoroscopy units, one set each of transforaminal endoscope and intervertebral-disc endoscopic surgical equipment, one advanced intraoperative spinal-cord monitoring system, two ultrasonic bone-cutting systems, one ultra-high-speed pneumatic drill, three sets of spinal operating tables and frames, and one Sofamor Danek surgical navigation system. It also has advanced equipment and instruments for minimally invasive spinal access and percutaneous screw placement, as well as high-tech materials including bone cement and inflatable filling bags, enabling all spinal surgical procedures to be performed smoothly.

Departmental clinical strengths: Orthopedics·Spine Surgery is a branch of our hospital’s leading Orthopedics discipline and has become a nationally recognized specialty. Treatment outcomes for degenerative disease, trauma, infection, tumors, deformities and other spinal diseases are satisfactory and highly praised.

Distinctive features: 1. Led by Professor Tan Mingsheng, over 17 years the department pioneered atlantal pedicle-screw technology and established the TOI surgical classification and treatment strategy for atlantoaxial dislocation. This “filled a gap in the core spinal-internal-fixation technology among the 25 human vertebrae, where surgical risk and technical difficulty are high.” Colleagues at home and abroad call it the “Tan technique” and the “gold-standard procedure” for posterior upper-cervical surgery. Since its clinical application at Mayo Clinic in the United States in 2004, it has been widely used clinically in 31 countries worldwide, including Europe, the United States and Japan. In 2016, the paper describing this achievement was selected by Global Spine Journal as one of the “100 Influential Cervical Spine Surgery Papers Worldwide, 1900–2014” (the selected paper from mainland China), promoting international cervical-spine surgery. 2. Under Professor Li Zhongshi, the department conducted more than ten years of continuous serial research on cervicogenic vertigo, developed distinctive diagnostic methods, introduced advanced near-infrared spectroscopy, and performs diagnosis and differential diagnosis of difficult and refractory cervicogenic vertigo. Individualized treatment plans are formulated according to the condition, using special conservative drug treatment, including Chinese herbal medicine, and various operations. Outcomes are satisfactory and the department holds a leading academic position domestically and internationally. 3. Under Director Yi Ping, the department has studied the complete minimally invasive spinal-technology chain. After extensive domestic and overseas training, it was among the first in China to perform minimally invasive treatment of spinal disease, including various endoscopic and microscopic techniques, percutaneous pedicle screws, Wiltse-approach screw placement, tubular-access surgery, MS-TLIF and other posterior minimally invasive lumbar fusion procedures; minimally invasive treatment of spinal fractures; minimally invasive transpedicular treatment combined with vertebral augmentation; and minimally invasive treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in older adults. Internationally advanced innovations such as OLIF, MIDLIF and UBE have been introduced. These procedures cause less trauma and allow faster postoperative recovery and are highly praised. 4. Individualized anterior or posterior cervical operations are selected for different types of cervical spondylosis, shortening treatment and improving outcomes, especially for cervical canal stenosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and congenital cervical deformities. 5. Spinal degeneration: individualized, precise treatment is provided, from exercise, physical therapy and medication to interventional and open surgery. More than 50,000 outpatient visits for cervical, thoracic and lumbar degenerative disease are treated each year, including nearly 1,000 operations for cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation and lumbar canal stenosis. For complex disease involving multiple abnormal levels or sites, detailed symptomatic localization studies identify the true cause and guide individualized treatment that is minimally traumatic, effective and economical. 6. Spinal deformity: all spinal-surgical deformities receive systematic and individualized treatment. Surgical treatment of kyphosis and spinal-canal stenosis has reached an advanced national level. In 2002 the department first introduced transpedicular osteotomy and pedicle screws for severe kyphosis, greatly improving outcomes. It was among the earliest in Beijing to conduct scoliosis prevalence surveys and brace and surgical treatment of various scolioses, achieving satisfactory results and receiving the Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Ministry of Health. 7. Conservative and surgical treatment of spinal tumors, tuberculosis, and spinal-cord injuries produces significant results.

Specialty clinics currently available: Cervical spondylosis; minimally invasive spine surgery; cervicogenic vertigo.

Research achievements: For many years Orthopedics·Spine Surgery has been designated a host institution for key clinical projects of the Ministry of Health. It has led more than 10 national- and ministerial/provincial-level projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Capital Medical Development Research Foundation; obtained more than 20 orthopedic technology patents; published more than 300 papers in major Chinese and international medical journals, including Spine, Chinese Medical Journal and Chinese Journal of Spine and Spinal Cord; and written more than 20 books on spinal surgery. It edited Upper Cervical Spine Surgery and Atlantoaxial Dislocation: Surgical and Perioperative Management, and served as chief translator of the American works Spinal Trauma and Clinical Examination Manual of the Spine, among seven translated/edited works in total.

Teaching: The department undertakes theoretical, clinical-observation and internship teaching for undergraduates and graduate students of Peking Union Medical College, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University and the China-Japan Friendship Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences. It is a doctoral and master’s training site for Peking Union Medical University and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and a master’s training site for the China-Japan Friendship Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences; it has trained more than 30 doctoral and master’s students. As a standardized training base, it also completes clinical teaching responsibilities.

Honors: 1. Second Prize, National Science and Technology Progress Award, 2017. 2. First Prize, China Association of Integrative Medicine Science and Technology Progress Award, 2016. 3. First Prize, Huaxia Medical Science and Technology Award, 2011.

Other important matters: In addition to routine diagnosis and treatment, departmental experts undertake healthcare for senior officials and provide medical support during important events, including the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and National Day.

Hospital location: Department outpatient clinic: Orthopedics area, 3rd floor, Building B. Inpatient ward: East Ward, 7th floor, Building A. Department telephone: Outpatient: 010-84205336; Ward: 010-84205485; Nurses’ station: 010-84206196.