Gastroenterology

The Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University was established in 1989. It has now developed into a modern digestive disease specialty integrating medical care, education, and scientific research, with a certain level of recognition in China. The Department of Gastroenterology is the Anhui Provincial Branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive System Diseases, a key discipline in Anhui Province, a key discipline for clinical development in Anhui Province, an authorized doctoral and master's degree-granting discipline in Internal Medicine, and a postdoctoral research station.

The department currently has 172 health professionals, including 67 physicians, 6 doctoral supervisors, 19 master's supervisors, and 45 staff members with doctoral degrees. There are currently 35 doctoral students and 57 master's students enrolled; the department has 11 chief physicians, 20 deputy chief physicians, and 23 attending physicians. There is 1 research staff member or technician in total, as well as 104 nurses, including 6 deputy chief nurses and 63 charge nurses.

The department comprises 5 wards: the First, Second, and Third Gastroenterology Wards at the High-Tech Campus; the Fourth Gastroenterology Ward at the Jixi Road Campus; and the Fifth Gastroenterology Ward at the South Campus. It also has 3 endoscopy centers: the Jixi Road Digestive Endoscopy Center, the High-Tech Digestive Endoscopy Center, and the South Campus Digestive Endoscopy Center.

Advanced Technologies

The department has 263 beds, receives more than 200,000 outpatient visits annually, admits more than 14,000 inpatients annually, and performs more than 100,000 endoscopic procedures each year.

The department routinely provides the following advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services: various types of endoscopic hemostasis; polypectomy; ERCP; ESD; EUS-FNA; POEM; endoscopic treatment of appendicoliths; endoscopic ligation of esophageal and gastric fundal varices; endoscopic sclerotherapy and embolization of esophageal and gastric fundal varices; small-bowel enteroscopy and enteroscopic stricture incision for inflammatory bowel disease; enteroscopic diagnosis and treatment of obscure small-bowel bleeding; enteroscopic resection of small-bowel polyps; removal of gastrointestinal foreign bodies; esophageal stricture dilation and stent placement; and the research, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal functional and motility disorders. The following four subspecialties are particularly distinctive:

★ Precision diagnosis and treatment of early cancer: The department has established a precision assessment system for early cancer based on chromoendoscopy, magnifying NBI endoscopy, and laser confocal endomicroscopy. It performs endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for complete removal of early lesions, as well as ESD, ESE, and EFR for submucosal tumors and lesions of the muscularis propria. In recent years, it has detected and treated a large number of early precancerous lesions, early gastrointestinal cancers, and subepithelial tumors, using ESD and other treatments. Through years of research and accumulated experience, the department treats nearly 2,000 patients each year. It has developed distinctive expertise in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of early gastrointestinal cancer, while substantially advancing research on early cancer in all respects.

★ Diagnosis and treatment of biliary and pancreatic diseases: Space-occupying lesions of the bile ducts and pancreas can undergo endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA). Common bile duct stones and benign strictures, as well as pancreatic duct stones and benign strictures, can be treated with stone extraction and stent placement through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and pancreatic duct stones can be treated with extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy. Malignant biliary obstruction can be treated with ERCP-guided biopsy and brush cytology, ERCP-guided placement of plastic or metal stents, tumor radiofrequency ablation, and other procedures. Enteroscopy-assisted ERCP is performed after gastrointestinal reconstruction. Pancreatic pseudocysts are treated with endoscopic ultrasound-guided cystogastrostomy and pancreatic necrosectomy. For biliary and pancreatic duct diseases, interventional procedures include endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD), pancreatic duct drainage (EUS-PD), EUS-guided celiac plexus block, ablation of pancreatic cystic lesions, and EUS-guided gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE) for benign and malignant gastrointestinal obstruction. Endoscopic resection of duodenal papillary adenomas is also performed. Each year, more than 1,000 patients with complex biliary and pancreatic diseases receive precise treatment. Starting from clinical needs, the department continuously applies advanced ultra-minimally invasive technologies and has achieved outstanding results in the clinical and basic translational research of biliary and pancreatic diseases.

★ Endoscopic treatment of cirrhosis and portal hypertension: As the leading institution of the Anhui Provincial Esophageal and Gastric Fundal Varices Diagnosis and Treatment Group, the department has long been committed to diagnosing and treating patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension who experience massive bleeding from ruptured esophageal and gastric fundal varices. It has significant technical strengths and performs endoscopic ligation or sclerotherapy for esophageal and gastric fundal varices in more than 600 cases each year. As a leading institution for the endoscopic treatment of esophageal and gastric fundal varices, the department has continuously innovated its treatment techniques in recent years, including EUS-guided coil implantation. It conducts numerous training programs on the endoscopic treatment of esophageal and gastric fundal varices and has trained a large number of endoscopic treatment specialists throughout the province. In recent years, major breakthroughs have been achieved in clinical research, significantly improving the efficacy of endoscopic treatment. The research findings have been published several times in leading endoscopy journals such as Endoscopy.

★ Diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and small-bowel diseases: As a national regional IBD diagnosis and treatment center and the leading IBD institution in Anhui Province, the department has led the establishment of the Anhui IBD Disease-Specific Alliance and promoted standardized IBD diagnosis and treatment throughout Anhui Province, treating more than 3,000 IBD patients annually. It has pioneered advanced key clinical technologies for IBD in China, including small-bowel enteroscopy for IBD, endoscopic stricture treatment for IBD with concomitant small-bowel stenosis, IBD endoscopic ultrasound, and precise assessment using transabdominal intestinal ultrasound. In collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, it performs standardized pathological diagnosis of IBD, small-bowel CTE/MRE imaging, optimized treatment guided by therapeutic drug monitoring of immunosuppressants and biologics, and standardized infusion of biologic agents. This subspecialty is committed to innovating methods for IBD diagnosis and treatment, conducts numerous high-level clinical trials and clinical studies, and promotes improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of IBD in Anhui Province.

Advanced technology programs and key development directions: precise preoperative assessment of early gastrointestinal cancer; establishment of a precision decision-making system after endoscopic treatment of early gastrointestinal cancer; and establishment and application of a full-life-cycle management system for early gastrointestinal cancer. The department applies advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies for biliary and pancreatic diseases, focusing on innovation in ERCP diagnosis and treatment methods for various malignant biliary tumors and on EUS-guided interventional treatment of biliary and pancreatic diseases. It is at the provincial leading level in areas such as comprehensive management of inflammatory bowel disease. Its level of endoscopic treatment for esophageal and gastric fundal varices is nationally leading, with multiple innovative technologies and clinical translational research programs. Its technology covers all programs of a National Clinical Key Specialty.

Department Honors

The Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University is the Anhui Provincial Branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive System Diseases; a key discipline prioritized for clinical development in Anhui Province; a key discipline of universities in Anhui Province; the host institution of the Anhui Provincial Gastroenterology Quality Control Center; the institution chairing the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Society of the Anhui Medical Association; the institution chairing the Gastrointestinal Endoscopists Branch of the Anhui Medical Doctor Association; an Anhui 115 Industrial Innovation Team; the Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases; a National Drug Clinical Trial Center; a training base for digestive endoscopy of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; one of the first national regional IBD diagnosis and treatment centers; and the earliest authorized master's and doctoral degree-granting site in digestive diseases in Anhui Province. With 56 years of development, it is the largest digestive disease specialty in Anhui Province, integrating clinical care, education, and scientific research. Relying on the Anhui Institute of Digestive Diseases and several provincial key laboratories, the discipline focuses its research on the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal tumors, hepatic fibrosis, and the intestinal microecology. In recent years, it has undertaken dozens of national and provincial or ministerial scientific research projects, published more than 100 SCI papers, and received multiple provincial science and technology progress awards. It maintains long-term collaborations with universities and medical institutions in China and abroad to promote the translation of research achievements into clinical applications.