Otolaryngology

The Department of Otolaryngology of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University was founded in 1924. Under the pioneering work and leadership of Professor Sun Hongquan, and through the unremitting efforts of several generations of scholars, including Professors Wang Tianduo, Luan Xinyong, and Pan Xinliang, it has now developed an academic style with distinctive characteristics. It is one of the birthplaces and founding institutions of otolaryngology in China and has made tremendous contributions to the development of otolaryngology in China over the years. Since the 1950s, the department has gained fame both at home and abroad for inner-ear fenestration, cranial surgery, facial nerve decompression, artificial larynx, esophageal speech after total laryngectomy, surgical treatment of pharyngolaryngeal tumors, and laryngeal function reconstruction. It has also organized 22 national advanced training courses for senior physicians in head and neck surgery and otologic neurosurgery, and has undertaken the training of physicians from all over the country who come for further study.

Since December 2020, following an adjustment of the department’s leadership team, under the direction of Professor Lei Dapeng, the department has continued to innovate and develop scientifically, leverage its clinical strengths, optimize the development of its professional talent team, and formulate medium- and long-term development goals. Professor Lei Dapeng currently serves as a member and incoming chair of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Shandong Medical Association, deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology of the National Health Commission, and a Qilu leading healthcare and health professional. Professor Pan Xinliang, the academic leader, serves as head of the Head and Neck Group of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and director of the Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology of the National Health Commission.

The department was authorized to confer master’s degrees in otolaryngology in 1978 and doctoral degrees in 1988. It was one of the earliest departments in Shandong Province authorized to confer doctoral degrees. Since 2002, it has accepted postdoctoral researchers. It has a group of accomplished senior experts and has now established a talent echelon primarily composed of young and middle-aged technical professionals.

In 1989, the Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology of the Ministry of Health was established; it was officially opened to the public in 1994. In October 2005, the laboratory was integrated with Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and in July 2007 it successfully passed the evaluation by an expert panel of the Ministry of Health. In 2005, the department was approved as one of the first posts under the “Taishan Scholars” Development Project of Shandong Province; in 2009, it was designated a key clinical medicine discipline under Phase III of Shandong University’s “985 Project”; in 2010, it was designated a key discipline under Shandong Province’s “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” and one of the province’s “Two Improvements and One Satisfaction” Top Ten Quality Brands; and in 2011, it was designated a National Clinical Key Specialty. In 2018, the Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology of the National Health Commission once again successfully passed evaluation by an expert panel. Our department is a provincial standardized training base for the application of endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in laryngology.

As of the end of November 2021, the Jinan campus had 114 active employees, including 44 medical and technical personnel (including the outpatient audiometry room and laryngoscopy room), 15 full-time research personnel, and 55 nurses. There were 20 personnel with senior professional titles and 34 personnel with doctoral degrees. Among the physicians, 28 held doctoral degrees, and personnel with master’s degrees or higher accounted for 87.1% of the physician workforce.

The department has achieved a series of important accomplishments in the treatment of head and neck tumors. In particular, its surgical treatment of laryngeal cancer and hypopharyngeal cancer with preservation of laryngeal function has consistently remained at a leading level in China, with some areas reaching an internationally advanced level. This has not only effectively improved the surgical treatment outcomes of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, but has also greatly improved patients’ postoperative quality of life, preserving their respiratory, swallowing, and phonatory functions to the greatest possible extent. The concept of tumor resection with preservation of laryngeal function has been accepted by major hospitals throughout China. It is currently the treatment center with the highest rate of laryngeal function preservation in China and has also had considerable international influence. In recent years, while maintaining its traditional advantages in the surgical treatment of head and neck tumors, the department has further standardized and systematized surgical techniques for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer and methods of laryngeal function-preserving reconstruction, breaking through many traditional surgical taboos. It has actively treated head and neck tumors involving the carotid artery system and was the first in China to successfully perform prosthetic vascular graft reconstruction of the common carotid artery. The department has reached a leading level in China in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer, cervical esophageal cancer, tonsillar cancer, laryngotracheal stenosis, pharyngoesophageal stenosis, and skull-base tumors. It was the first in the province to perform minimally invasive procedures such as cochlear implantation, endoscopic nasal surgery, and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. It has also achieved outstanding results, reaching an advanced level in China, in the diagnosis and treatment of sinonasal skull-base diseases, rhinology–ophthalmology-related surgery, allergic diseases, sleep-related respiratory dysfunction, sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and sensorineural hearing loss. The total value of its various professional diagnostic and therapeutic equipment exceeds RMB 20 million. In 2020, outpatient visits exceeded 120,000, annual inpatient admissions exceeded 6,000, and more than 5,200 operations were performed; patients treated came from all over the country.

The department has undertaken more than 30 national and provincial/ministerial-level research projects, including projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the U.S. NIH Fogarty International Collaborative Research Program, the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, Shandong Province Science and Technology Research Projects, and the Shandong Province Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Scientists Award Foundation, with total research funding exceeding RMB 8 million. It has received 3 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, 2 Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Awards, 2 Ministry of Health Science and Technology Progress Awards, 1 Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, 23 provincial-level awards, and 5 departmental-level awards, and has been granted 2 national patents. From 2008 to 2018, the department published more than 350 papers in domestic and international journals, including 60 indexed by SCI, and published 8 academic monographs.

The department occupies two wards, F13C and F13D, in the Huamei Building, with 110 open beds. It has further refined its directions of disciplinary development and vigorously promoted the development of tertiary subspecialties, which are mainly divided into head and neck tumors, benign pharyngolaryngeal lesions, otologic surgery, prevention and treatment of hearing loss and tinnitus, rhinology, allergic diseases, sleep-related breathing disorders, and basic research related to otolaryngology–head and neck diseases.

To strengthen academic exchange, actively promote the research achievements of the department, and benefit the broad patient population, the department organizes one national training course on head and neck tumor treatment, one national symposium on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, one provincial training course on the application of sinus endoscopic surgery, and one provincial training course on hearing screening every year. These events attract active participation from trainees throughout and beyond the province. The department has established sound cooperative relationships with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. In addition to sending young physicians abroad for visiting exchanges, it sends doctoral students to the United States and Singapore for joint training and regularly invites foreign experts to China for academic exchanges. Professor Pan Xinliang currently serves as deputy editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. The Journal of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology of Shandong University, with Director Pan Xinliang as editor-in-chief, is a national academic source journal indexed for statistical analysis and is a nationally recognized high-level academic exchange platform in the field of otolaryngology. The department’s edited works Practical Otolaryngology and Otolaryngologic Surgery are among the earliest authoritative clinical monographs in China.