Thoracic Surgery

The Department of Thoracic Surgery was established at the inception of China-Japan Friendship Hospital (1984). Professor Xin Yuling, the hospital’s inaugural president, personally established the department. Thereafter, under the leadership of Directors Ge Bingsheng and Zhao Fengrui, a series of highly complex procedures—including carinal reconstruction with pneumonectomy, total esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis, and bronchial excision for the treatment of bronchiectasis—were performed, all at the forefront nationally.

In 1996, the department began lung transplantation. It was among the earlier hospitals nationwide to initiate this work, contributing to the development of lung transplantation in China. It also vigorously launched new research projects and focused on exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries, gradually bringing thoracic surgery into line with advanced international standards. The department performed a series of complex procedures, including double-sleeve lobectomy, artificial vascular replacement, and minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery, and continued clinical lung transplantation, lung volume reduction, and intercostal nerve cryotherapy for analgesia—clinical explorations at an internationally advanced level. These achieved good results and laid the foundation for subsequent broader application.

Over the past 15 years, under the leadership of Director Liu Deruo, the Department of Thoracic Surgery has undergone more comprehensive development. The number of operations has increased year by year, extensive research has been conducted, and great importance has been attached to the training of young doctors and the development of the department’s talent pipeline. Exchanges with advanced institutions at home and abroad have been maintained, enabling the department as a whole to continue developing. In 2007, the Ministry of Health implemented an access system for organ transplantation, and our hospital obtained authorization to perform lung transplantation. In 2009, Liu Deruo successfully performed sequential bilateral lobar lung transplantation, marking the complete maturation of our department’s clinical lung transplantation technology. In 2009 and 2010, the department received key support from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance for two consecutive years. In 2010, two dedicated integrated operating rooms for thoracic surgery were completed and put into service. Under the leadership of Directors Chen Jingyu and Liang Chaoyang, the China-Japan Friendship Hospital lung transplantation team was established. The annual volume of lung transplantation procedures is approximately 100, with outcomes at an advanced level nationally. As a constituent department of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases and the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, the department has led multiple national and provincial/ministerial-level research projects and has received multiple awards.

In 2011, the department was designated by the Ministry of Health as a national-level key clinical specialty. It received nominations in the 2012 and 2013 Fudan University rankings, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the development of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at China-Japan Friendship Hospital. In the 2018 China Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) for thoracic surgery, it ranked 10th (published in 2019); in the 2019 China Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) for thoracic surgery, it ranked 7th (published in 2020).

The current director of the Department of Thoracic Surgery is Liang Chaoyang. The deputy directors are Ma Qianli, Zhang Zhenrong, Qiang Guangliang (concurrently), and Wang Min (North Area). The department has 4 chief physicians, 6 deputy chief physicians, 7 attending physicians, 4 resident physicians, 1 full-time research staff member, 1 technician, 29 nurses, and other staff. Among them, 15 hold doctoral degrees and 7 hold master’s degrees.

Outpatient clinics and ward configuration: The department operates specialty clinics for lung cancer, lung transplantation, and other conditions. There are 67 inpatient beds in total (47 in the Main Campus and 20 in the North Area). There is 1 bronchoscopy examination room, 2 lung cancer laboratories, and 2 lung transplantation laboratories.

Diagnostic and treatment equipment: The Department of Thoracic Surgery currently has 4 permanent operating rooms, 2 of which are dedicated integrated operating rooms for thoracic surgery. They are equipped with advanced minimally invasive surgical systems, including a da Vinci robot, 4K thoracoscopes, 3D thoracoscopes, and fluorescence thoracoscopes, as well as adjunctive treatment equipment such as radiofrequency ablation systems, argon-helium cryoablation systems, thulium lasers, and cryotherapy devices. The department also has advanced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, including magnetic-navigation bronchoscopes, rigid bronchoscopes, fiberoptic bronchoscopes, ultrasonic fiberoptic electronic bronchoscopes (EBUS), and fluorescence bronchoscopes. It performs diagnosis and treatment of related diseases, with an annual surgical volume of more than 3,000 procedures.

Departmental clinical specialties:

Lung transplantation specialty group: Professor Chen Jingyu and Professor Liang Chaoyang lead the lung transplantation specialty group. The annual surgical volume is approximately 100 procedures, and the annual lung transplantation volume of this single ward ranks among the highest in China.

Lung cancer specialty group: The group brings together renowned national experts, including Professor Liu Deruo and Professor Liang Chaoyang. More than 2,500 lung cancer operations are performed annually. Its thoracoscopic lung cancer techniques rank among the leading procedures of their kind nationwide. The group performs complex procedures including thoracoscopic segmentectomy, combined subsegmentectomy, pneumonectomy, and sleeve resection.

New Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Group: More than 400 operations are performed annually. Through the five core technologies of “quantifiability, visualizability, controllability, reversibility, and plasticity,” the group addresses the five urgent challenges of “qualitative characterization, localization, efficacy determination, damage determination, and structural determination,” achieving the surgical goal of removing lesions to the greatest extent while preserving pulmonary function to the maximum extent.

Esophageal cancer specialty group: More than 200 esophageal cancer operations are performed annually. Complex procedures include three-incision esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, totally endoscopic esophagectomy, and esophageal cancer surgery using the jejunum to replace the esophagus.

Mediastinal specialty group: More than 200 operations are performed annually. The group performs endoscopic total thymectomy and other complex procedures, including simultaneous resection of dumbbell-shaped schwannomas.

More than 500 other complex thoracic surgical procedures are performed.

Current specialty clinics: Professor Liu Deruo operates a specialty clinic for lung cancer, and Department Director Professor Liang Chaoyang operates a specialty clinic for lung transplantation.

Research achievements: Over the past five years, the department has led 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, 2 provincial/ministerial-level projects, and 9 hospital- or university-level projects; developed 2 industry guidelines; developed 8 expert consensus statements and diagnostic and treatment standards; and participated in 6 Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission projects. It has published more than 30 SCI papers and more than 50 papers in core journals, and holds 28 national invention and utility model patents.

Teaching: The Department of Thoracic Surgery is an authorized doctoral training site of Peking University Health Science Center and a master’s training site of Peking Union Medical College. Currently, there is 1 postdoctoral fellow, 1 doctoral student, and 2 master’s students in training.

Departmental honors:

In 2011, the Department of Thoracic Surgery was designated a National Key Clinical Specialty;

2012 and 2013 Fudan University ranking nominations;

In 2021, the department obtained Beijing qualification for clinical drug trials (GCP);

2020 National Health Commission Civilized Women’s Post among the Commission’s directly affiliated institutions;

In 2018, 1 Chinese Medical Association Science and Technology Progress Award;

In 2018, 1 Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award;

In 2017, “Systematic research and clinical application and dissemination of individualized minimally invasive technologies related to lung cancer” received one First Prize of the Huaxia Medical Science and Technology Award;

Other important matters: In 2018 and 2019, the department successfully completed paired-support tasks for Tumed Right Banner Hospital in Baotou, Inner Mongolia; successfully completed the medical support mission for the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of National Day; when the COVID-19 outbreak began in January 2020, 2 physicians and 3 nurses from the department joined the China-Japan Friendship Hospital national medical team assisting Hubei in epidemic control. They fulfilled their mission with distinction and demonstrated the responsibility and commitment of China-Japan Friendship Hospital as a national-level team.

Location within the hospital: The department’s outpatient clinic is located in Consultation Rooms 5 and 11 on the 3rd floor of Building B’s outpatient building; the inpatient ward is on the 6th floor of Building A of the inpatient department; the North Area is on the 5th floor of Building B.

Department telephone numbers: Thoracic Surgery outpatient clinic: 010-84205317; Main Campus ward: 010-84206189; Main Campus nurses’ station: 010-84206191; North Area ward: 010-84206551; North Area nurses’ station: 010-84206548.