Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery of Peking University People’s Hospital was established before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1942, Professor Lin Bijin presided over the department’s work and appointed Professor Liu Ruihua, the founder of otolaryngology in China, as a consultant. In 1943, Professor Liu Ruihua assumed overall responsibility for the department’s work. In 1953, Liu Fangcheng, then an attending physician, took responsibility for the comprehensive medical, teaching, and research work of the department. In 1960, the Department of Otolaryngology separated from the Department of Surgery and became an independent Department of Otolaryngology and Otolaryngology teaching and research section. In 1995, it was divided into three specialty groups: the Otology Group, the Rhinology Group, and the Laryngology–Head and Neck Group, which have continued to the present. In 1999, the application for a doctoral program in otolaryngology was successfully approved, and Professor Yu Delin, then director of the department, became the first doctoral supervisor in otolaryngology at the Peking University Health Science Center. In 2001, Professor Yu Lisheng succeeded as director of the Department of Otolaryngology and has remained in this position to the present.

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery is divided into three specialty groups: Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology–Head and Neck Surgery:

The Otology Group includes 5 chief physicians and 2 associate chief physicians. They lead 1–2 attending physicians and have established an otology medical group and an otologic surgery group. More than 600 various microscopic surgeries of the middle and inner ear are performed annually. The group is capable of performing difficult surgeries, including resection of lateral skull base tumors such as acoustic neuromas and glomus jugulare tumors. Its level of surgical treatment for vertigo is among the leading in China. It was the first in China to report research on the clinical application of middle-ear endoscopy, filling a gap in this field domestically. Since 2000, cochlear implantation surgery has been performed, making the group one of the earliest institutions in China to conduct this technology, and in 2002 it completed the first bilateral cochlear implantation in China. In 2005, it became one of the first 5 free cochlear implantation bases in Beijing. The Otology Group admits more than 100 cases of hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and other conditions annually, and proposed a classification-based treatment plan for sudden hearing loss, achieving very good therapeutic results. In 2007, the national multicenter clinical study of sudden hearing loss initiated by the Department of Otolaryngology of Peking University People’s Hospital was formally launched. This was the first large-scale clinical multicenter study conducted by the otolaryngology–head and neck surgery community in China. In 2015, Professor Yu Lisheng, as the primary drafter, formulated the Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sudden Hearing Loss and, in the following year, as a principal participant, revised the new Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Meniere’s disease and BPPV. The specialty group has focused on tinnitus research for many years and has published more than 30 papers and other works related to tinnitus. The Otology Diagnosis and Treatment Advances Study Course, established in 2009, has also been widely acclaimed within the field, benefiting many people.

The Rhinology Group has 3 chief physicians, 1 associate chief physician, and 1 attending physician, and performs more than 500 endoscopic minimally invasive nasal surgeries annually. In 1989, under the leadership of Professor Yu Delin, it was the first in China to conduct endoscopic nasal surgery, and has remained at the forefront nationally. To date, several thousand surgeries have been performed, with good therapeutic results. Since 1994, one national nasal endoscopy study course has been held annually. More than 20 sessions have been successfully held to date, making a significant contribution to the development of nasal endoscopic technology in China. The group was the first in China to perform transnasal dacryocystorhinostomy and dual-approach maxillary sinus surgery, and pioneered submucosal resection of turbinate tissue, which has been widely applied in China. It is currently capable of performing difficult and complex surgeries, including lateral skull base and anterior skull base surgery, rhinologic-orbital surgery, and repair of nasal and facial trauma.

The Laryngology–Head and Neck Group consists of 2 chief physicians, 1 associate chief physician, and 3 attending physicians. In addition to maintaining its distinctive expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of laryngeal and pharyngeal diseases, voice disorders, and sleep apnea syndrome, the Head and Neck–Laryngology Group also performs various types of head and neck tumor resections and maxillofacial surgeries, including resection of benign and malignant tumors of the thyroid and parotid glands; surgical treatment of congenital diseases such as thyroglossal duct cysts and branchial cleft cysts; and surgery and postoperative functional reconstruction for laryngeal cancer and hypopharyngeal cancer. The annual number of laryngopharyngeal surgeries performed ranks among the highest of general hospitals at all levels in Beijing. Professor Zhang Lihong, the leader of the Laryngology–Head and Neck Group, has profound expertise in the clinical and basic research of gastroesophageal reflux and participated in the formulation of the Chinese Guidelines for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux.