Neurosurgery

The Department of Neurosurgery of China-Japan Friendship Hospital was established in 1984 and was one of the earliest specialties in China to perform microsurgical neurosurgical procedures. It is currently a distinctive medical discipline designated by the National Health Commission and a distinctive clinical department of the capital. The department has consistently adhered to a development policy of innovation and progress. After more than 30 years of development, it has established its specialty in functional neurosurgery, with minimally invasive neurosurgery as its principal development direction. It has advantages in skull base surgery, cranial nerve and peripheral nerve surgery, spasticity surgery, neuromodulation, and perioperative electrophysiological monitoring. The current director of the Department of Neurosurgery is Professor Yu Yanbing; the deputy directors are Zhang Li and Liu Jiang; and the head nurse is Zuo Ying. There are 3 chief physicians, 6 associate chief physicians, 8 attending physicians, and 2 resident physicians. Eight members hold doctoral degrees, and all teaching staff have received formal training. In addition, the department has 35 professional nursing personnel and 2 technical personnel.

Outpatient clinics and inpatient wards: specialty outpatient clinics for cranial nerve disorders, cerebrovascular disease, pituitary tumors, spinal and spinal cord disorders, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease. The Department of Neurosurgery has an independent neurocritical care ward, with a total of 150 beds in operation. It has 1 neurosurgical laboratory and 1 neuroendoscopic skull base anatomy laboratory.

Introduction to diagnostic and treatment equipment: The Department of Neurosurgery of China-Japan Friendship Hospital possesses a large number of advanced medical devices and facilities, including 3 fully digital dedicated neurosurgical operating rooms, 1 hybrid operating room, 1 surgical robot, 6 operating microscopes (including 2 ZEISS KINEVO 900 microscopes and 2 PENTERO-900 microscopes), 4 cranial drilling systems, 1 variable-frequency surgical knife, 1 contact laser knife, 2 surgical navigation systems, 2 intracranial pressure monitors, 2 neuroendoscopes, 2 multifunctional stereotactic surgical planning systems, 1 ultrasonic aspirator, 2 real-time intraoperative ultrasound systems, 3 multifunctional neurophysiological monitoring systems, 2 multichannel video electroencephalography systems, 1 mobile CT scanner, and 2 digital subtraction angiography systems, among others.

Diagnostic and treatment specialties of the department: The Department of Neurosurgery of China-Japan Friendship Hospital has subspecialty treatment teams for skull base surgery, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral nerve surgery, spinal and spinal cord disorders, movement disorders, spasticity surgery, and neuroendoscopy. On the basis of comprehensively providing diagnosis and treatment for common and frequently occurring neurosurgical conditions, including craniocerebral and spinal cord injuries, tumors, and cerebrovascular diseases, the department has developed distinctive expertise and advantages in the surgical treatment of conditions including cerebellopontine angle tumors, cranial nerve disorders, spasticity and movement disorders, peripheral nerve disorders, and refractory epilepsy. It currently admits nearly 3,000 patients annually, has an annual outpatient volume of 14,000 visits, a bed occupancy rate of 99%, and performs more than 3,300 operations annually. The Department of Neurosurgery of China-Japan Friendship Hospital has consistently adhered to a development policy of innovation and progress. After more than 30 years of development, it has established its specialty in functional neurosurgery, with precision neurosurgery as its principal development direction. It has advantages in skull base surgery, cranial nerve and peripheral nerve surgery, spasticity surgery, neuromodulation, and perioperative electrophysiological monitoring, and is the largest cranial nerve surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, and spasticity surgery center in China. The department has also continued to make breakthrough progress in the surgical treatment of difficult cases involving routine neurosurgical conditions. It has successively carried out total microsurgical resection of giant cerebellopontine angle tumors with preservation and reconstruction of facial and auditory nerve function; total resection of giant craniopharyngiomas; resection of petroclival region tumors through a modified subtemporal approach; transoral-transpharyngeal surgery for clival tumors; transinterhemispheric-transcallosal surgery for third ventricular tumors; total resection of tumors within the cavernous sinus; total resection of high cervical intramedullary spinal cord tumors with restoration of the laminae; surgery for brainstem tumors; total resection of tumors in the craniocervical junction through presigmoid and far-lateral approaches; reoperation for recurrent and refractory spinal meningocele; microsurgery for complex tethered cord syndrome; and comprehensive treatment of gliomas with surgery combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. In the surgical treatment of cerebrovascular disease, the department uses a combination of endovascular intervention, microsurgery, real-time intraoperative ultrasound monitoring, fluorescence angiography, and other methods. Neuroendoscopy is used to treat hydrocephalus, brain tumors, ventriculitis, subdural abscesses and hematomas, pituitary adenomas, and anterior and lateral skull base tumors. Endoscopic treatment has also been introduced into procedures including MVD, lumbosacral SPR, and the Foerster-Dandy procedure.

Existing specialty outpatient clinics: cranial nerve disorders, cerebrovascular disease, pituitary tumors, spinal and spinal cord disorders, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease.

Research achievements of the department: The principal research directions of the Department of Neurosurgery include basic and clinical research on diabetic peripheral neuropathy, the molecular biological mechanisms underlying the development and progression of gliomas, and refractory epilepsy. In recent years, the department has successively undertaken more than 20 research projects, including key research projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology under the Tenth Five-Year Plan, projects under the 973 Program, the Ministry of Science and Technology Local Development Fund, National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, National Marine Scientific Research Program projects, Ministry of Health funding for the development of distinctive medical disciplines, key research projects of the Ministry of Health, the Capital Medical Development Fund, Capital distinctive clinical medical technology development research projects, the China-Japan Hospital Distinctive Specialty Development Fund, and key research projects of China-Japan Hospital. It has received more than 30 million yuan in funding support. In recent years, it has published more than 300 articles in core journals and more than 60 SCI-indexed articles, and has served as chief editor or contributing editor for more than 20 monographs.

Teaching of the department: The Department of Neurosurgery is a doctoral training site of Peking University Health Science Center and Peking Union Medical College, and has a postdoctoral research station. There are currently 2 doctoral student supervisors and 3 master’s student supervisors. More than 30 graduate students have been trained, and 8 are currently engaged in research. Nearly 20 physicians from various regions receive advanced training each year. In recent years, the department has organized more than 10 national continuing education programs, laying a solid foundation for ensuring teaching quality. Our department is one of the first national training bases for neurosurgical specialists; 3 specialists have completed training and 1 is currently in training.

Honors received by the department: The Department of Neurosurgery has successively received the Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Ministry of Health, the Third Prize for Huaxia Medical Science and Technology, the Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress of Beijing Municipality, the Outstanding Paper Award of the 4th China Association for Science and Technology, the Wang Zhongcheng Chinese Neurosurgeon of the Year Award, the 2009 National Civilized Post for Women’s Achievement, the 2011 National Advanced Individual in Quality Nursing Services, and the 2012 National Demonstration Ward for Quality Nursing Services, among other awards and honors.

Other important information: The Department of Neurosurgery has established long-term collaborative relationships with The University of Tokyo in Japan; the Department of Neurobiology of Harvard Medical School; the Department of Neurosurgery, Cerebrovascular Disease Treatment Center, and Stroke Laboratory of Brigham and Women’s Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School; and the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery of Boston Children’s Hospital. It has conducted international collaborative research on the molecular genetic mechanisms of cerebrovascular disease, the mechanisms of neural injury in acute brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases, surgical treatment of spasticity, peripheral nerve surgery, and other areas.

Location within the hospital: The department’s outpatient clinic is located on the 3rd floor of the Surgical Outpatient Clinic in Building B; the special-needs outpatient clinic is located on the 4th floor of the Outpatient Clinic in Building B; and the International Department outpatient clinic is located on the 1st floor of the International Department. The inpatient ward is located on the 10th floor of Building A of the Inpatient Department.

Department telephone numbers: Outpatient clinic: 010-84205317; inpatient ward: 010-84205031; nurses’ station: 010-84205038.