Neurosurgery Department 1

Department I of Neurosurgery has a medical and nursing team with profound academic attainments, a high level of medical expertise, excellent nursing skills, a rational talent structure, and strong overall capabilities. It currently has 7 physicians: 1 professor/chief physician, 3 associate chief physicians, 2 attending physicians, and 1 resident physician. (There is 1 supervisor of master's students, and 4 hold doctoral degrees.) It has 15 nurses: 8 nurses-in-charge, 5 nurse practitioners, and 2 staff nurses. (4 hold postgraduate degrees.)

Through the efforts of successive department directors and 35 years of development, Department I of Neurosurgery at the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University has become a first-class department in China, equipped with a wide range of advanced surgical equipment and capable of performing nearly all types of neurosurgical procedures; it was also the first in Northeast China to perform brainstem tumor surgery, as early as 1998. Skull-base surgery is considered by the academic community to be the jewel in the crown of neurosurgery and places the highest demands on the surgeon's anatomical knowledge and surgical skills. Brainstem surgery at the skull base is the most difficult “Mount Everest” among skull-base procedures and was even considered for a long period a forbidden zone for surgery. Professor Wei Minghai, director of the department, is a nationally renowned expert who serves as a national committee member of the Chinese Neurosurgical Society, a national committee member of the Neurosurgeon Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, a national committee member of the Cerebrovascular Surgery Branch of the Chinese Stroke Association, chair of the Neurosurgery Branch of the Dalian Medical Association, a member of the Brain Glioma Professional Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, a member of the Neuro-Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, a member of the Neurosurgery Branch of the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, a member of the Neurosurgery Academic Committee of the Sino-Russian Medical University Alliance, and a standing committee member of the Neurosurgery Branch of the Liaoning Society for Life Sciences.

The current scope of specialized diagnosis and treatment includes:

1. Minimally invasive surgical platform integrating neuroendoscopy, microneurosurgery, and neuronavigation: Department I of Neurosurgery was the earliest department in the city to perform microneurosurgery. In recent years, it has achieved outstanding results in treating various nervous system tumors (such as pituitary tumors, gliomas, meningiomas, craniopharyngiomas, spinal cord tumors, etc.), cerebrovascular diseases (intracranial aneurysms, cerebral arteriovenous malformations, cerebral infarction, internal carotid artery stenosis, cavernous hemangiomas, carotid-cavernous fistulas, etc.), functional neurosurgical disorders (trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, intractable pain, etc.), and congenital diseases (intracranial cysts, hydrocephalus, cholesteatomas, etc.) using neuroendoscopy combined with neuronavigation and microsurgical techniques, as well as in repairing severe cerebrospinal fluid leaks and reconstructing skull-base structures. It has also developed a comprehensive set of modern minimally invasive methods superior to traditional neurosurgical techniques, achieving maximal lesion removal with minimal trauma.

2. Individualized precision diagnosis and treatment platform for gliomas: Gliomas have the highest incidence among nervous system tumors. Our department has well-established teams covering glioma surgery, pathology, imaging, postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, postoperative follow-up, and scientific research. It is a leader in comprehensive glioma treatment in Northeast China and ranks among the leading departments nationally.

3. Multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment platform for pituitary tumors: The clinical manifestations of pituitary adenomas are diverse and complex. Our department is the first pituitary tumor diagnosis and treatment center in Liaoning Province. It collaborates with the Departments of Endocrinology, Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Oncology, Pathology, and Medical Imaging, as well as other relevant departments, fully leveraging the strengths of each discipline. Through teamwork, it overcomes the limitations of single-discipline treatment and conducts multidisciplinary consultations for every patient, formulating individualized and standardized treatment plans so that patients can receive more reasonable, more effective, and more comprehensive treatment at the earliest opportunity.

4. One-stop diagnosis and treatment platform for cerebrovascular diseases: Endovascular interventional therapy is one of the fastest-developing modern medical technologies in China and internationally in recent years. It achieves relatively favorable therapeutic outcomes with minimal trauma and is a major component of minimally invasive neuromedicine. Using digital subtraction angiography (DSA), the vast majority of vascular diseases can be accurately diagnosed and appropriately treated. Our department currently applies endovascular interventional therapy extensively to hemorrhagic cerebrovascular diseases: cerebrovascular malformations, cerebral aneurysms, internal carotid artery–cavernous sinus fistulas, etc.; and ischemic cerebrovascular diseases: acute cerebral infarction, internal carotid artery stenosis, vertebrobasilar artery stenosis, preoperative embolization of feeding arteries of hypervascular tumors, etc. In addition, with the development of minimally invasive neurosurgery and for the minimally invasive treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, our department has successfully implemented a new technique of stereotactic puncture for treating intracerebral hematomas. This is a completely new surgical technique featuring accurate localization, simple operation, good therapeutic efficacy, no need for craniotomy or blood transfusion, and low cost, and is more suitable for treating hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage under current medical conditions in China.

5. Functional neurosurgical treatment platform: Functional neurosurgery targets specific nerve roots, neural pathways, or neuronal groups, with the aim of deliberately altering their pathological processes and restoring the normal function of neural tissue. Our department can currently perform minimally invasive procedures for trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, intractable pain, and ventriculoperitoneal shunting.

Specialty nursing work

The nursing team of Department I of Neurosurgery has received the 2016–2017 Dalian City Advanced Ward for Quality Nursing Services award and the 2019 Outstanding Department award from the Department of Nursing. Several nurses from the department have completed further training at Beijing Yiwu Hospital, Tiantan Hospital, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, and other major renowned hospitals nationwide. The department currently holds one invention patent, has two new nursing techniques, and has two specialist nurses.

Specialty education and research

Research: The department has undertaken 2 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 1 China Postdoctoral Science Foundation project, and research on 4 major projects funded by the Liaoning Provincial Department of Education and the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province. It has published more than 100 papers and more than 10 monographs.

Teaching: The department undertakes teaching for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students, as well as physicians and nurses receiving further training, emphasizing teaching according to individual aptitude and clinical skills training. It has trained more than 40 master's graduate students and several doctoral students.

Goals and philosophy

The department is committed to standardized, protocol-based, diversified, and individualized diagnosis, treatment, and nursing of nervous system tumors. It strictly adheres to surgical indications, continuously works to improve the standard of microsurgery, strictly ensures nursing quality, strengthens international exchanges and exchanges through domestic conferences and training courses, introduces new technologies, and puts the concept of precision neurosurgery into practice. With precision neurosurgery and individualized neurosurgery as its work priorities, it safeguards patients with nervous system tumors, cerebrovascular disease, and epilepsy.