Neurosurgery (ICU)

The Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University was founded in Chongqing in 1958 by Professor Zhu Zhenqing, one of the founders of Chinese neurosurgery, who came to Chongqing from Huashan Hospital in Shanghai. After more than 60 years of efforts by several generations, the department’s medical standards have reached an internationally advanced and nationally first-class level. For the past 6 consecutive years, it has achieved excellent results in the 《Fudan Specialty Ranking》, including a national nomination, second place in Southwest China, and first place in Chongqing, and has become a leading hub for neurosurgical diagnosis and treatment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Under the strong leadership of the hospital’s new leadership team, all the colleagues in Neurosurgery are striving toward the grand vision of building a “world-class neurosurgical medical center with Chinese characteristics.” Neurosurgery is a National Key Clinical Specialty, one of the first national training bases for neurosurgical specialist physicians, an Academician-Expert Workstation, the Academician Zhou Liangfu Workstation, a Chongqing Key Discipline, a Chongqing Key Medical Discipline, the Chongqing Neurosurgical Diagnosis and Treatment Center, the Chongqing Neurosurgical Medical Quality Control Center, a National Demonstration Base for Stroke Screening and Prevention and Treatment, a member institution of the National Clinical Research Network for Nervous System Diseases, a council member institution of the Chinese Neuromodulation Alliance, a branch center of the Spinal Minimally Invasive Alliance of the National Clinical Medical Center for Geriatric Diseases, a Spinal and Spinal Cord Surgery Training Base of the Neurosurgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, a Neuroendoscopic Physician Training Base of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and a Microsurgical Skills Training Center of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. The department has strong capabilities; 16 personnel currently serve as committee members of national academic organizations, placing it among the leading departments in Chongqing. It currently has 1 chair of the Neurosurgery Branch of the Chongqing Medical Association (Yang Gang), 1 president of the Neurosurgeon Branch of the Chongqing Medical Doctors Association (Sun Xiaochuan), 1 chair of the Neuro-Oncology Special Committee of the Chongqing Anti-Cancer Association (Yang Gang), and 8 heads of neurosurgical subspecialty groups in Chongqing. We adhere to a patient-centered approach and concentrate our efforts on developing a high-quality medical service team. The department has two campuses, the main hospital campus and Jinshan, with a total of 155 authorized beds, including 25 specialized neurosurgical intensive care beds. The department has a highly educated physician team; it currently has 45 physicians, all of whom hold doctoral degrees, and most young physicians have postdoctoral experience, including 3 doctoral supervisors and 19 master’s supervisors. It has six subspecialties—neuro-oncology, cerebrospinal vascular diseases, functional neurological diseases, spinal cord and spinal diseases, craniocerebral trauma, and neurocritical care—as well as 13 medical teams. The physician teams in every subspecialty/medical team are complete, all are led by physicians with senior professional titles, and associate senior physicians and attending physicians serve as the backbone; disease-specific treatment is provided, with excellent outcomes. The Yang Gang team’s world-first “In Situ Bone Flap” in-situ bone flap technique was incorporated into the “guidelines,” won first place in the final round of the national competition organized by the National Health Commission, and is being promoted nationwide and internationally. Day surgery for pituitary tumors is routinely performed. The new integrated diagnosis-and-treatment model for cerebrovascular diseases combining “microsurgery + intervention” developed by Professor Sun Xiaochuan’s team; the new “dual-endoscope combination” minimally invasive technology system developed by Professor Zhong Dong’s team; the surgical treatment of intractable epilepsy developed by Professor Xie Yanfeng’s team; the comprehensive treatment of gliomas developed by Professor Huo Gang’s team; the minimally invasive treatment of spinal and spinal cord diseases developed by Professor Yan Yi’s team; the sellar diaphragm suturing (repair) technique developed by Professor Wang Xiaoshu’s team; and the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve diseases developed by Professor Cheng Chongjie’s team, among other techniques, are renowned nationwide. The department also has a high-quality nursing team. It currently has 94 nursing staff, including 15 neurosurgical specialist nurses, 7 PICC specialist nurses, 2 ventilator therapists, and 1 wound and ostomy specialist, with strong overall capabilities. In 2010, it received the title of Chongqing “Model Ward for Quality Nursing Services,” and in 2013, 2014, and 2015, it received the hospital title of “Quality Nursing Services Ward” for three consecutive years. In 2019, it won third prize in the hospital’s “Beautiful Ward” selection. In 2020, it was approved as the Chongqing Neurosurgical Specialist Nurse Training Base, successfully held 4 sessions of neurosurgical specialist nurse training, enrolled trainees from hospitals at all levels in Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Chongqing, and received a positive response. In 2023, it received the “Patient Satisfaction Award,” the “Excellence Award for Comprehensive Nursing Quality,” and the “Third Prize for Nursing Internship Teaching.” The “In Situ Bone Flap” in-situ bone flap technique pioneered worldwide by Director Yang Gang was included in the diagnosis and treatment guidelines. We also strive to translate basic and clinical research into practice and achieve breakthroughs, providing neurosurgical patients with more advanced treatment options. The department has undertaken 125 projects of various types, including subprojects of the National Science and Technology Support Program and the National Natural Science Foundation, and has published more than 600 papers. It has successively received 1 first prize, 2 second prizes, and 2 third prizes of provincial- and ministerial-level Science and Technology Progress Awards, 3 first prizes of departmental- and bureau-level Medical Science and Technology Achievement Awards, and has applied for 4 national invention patents. It has participated in formulating multiple national diagnosis and treatment standards, guidelines, and consensus statements. Research findings have been published in Stroke, Advanced Functional Materials, Nano Research, Molecular Psychiatry, Brain, and Nucleic Acids Research, among other authoritative international journals.