Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery

The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine was established in October 2013; its predecessor was the Biliary Specialty Group of the Department of General Surgery of Renji Hospital, and renowned Chinese surgical experts Professor Lan Xichun, Professor Kuang Yaolin, Professor Shi Weijin, Professor Wang Pingzhi, Professor Zhang Baigen, Professor Chen Zhiping, Professor Wu Zhiyong, Professor Cao Hui, and others made outstanding contributions in this field, laying a solid foundation for the establishment of the Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery. At present, the Department is a National Key Clinical Specialty, the Shanghai Consultation Center for Biliary Diseases, the Biliary Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, a member institution of the Pancreatic Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, a key discipline and distinctive discipline of Renji Hospital, and the site of the Institute of Biliary Diseases of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Renji) and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tumor System Regulation and Translational Research (under preparation). The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Renji Hospital has a technically versatile surgical team proficient in multiple modern surgical techniques, including open surgery, laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, and endoscopic surgery; benchmarking itself against the leading domestic level, the department’s academic influence is steadily increasing. Since its establishment, annual outpatient volume, numbers of discharged patients and surgical patients, and numbers of cases of key diseases and key operations have increased year by year; it has maturely carried out very large-scale and complex operations for various biliary and pancreatic diseases, achieving particularly outstanding results in the standardized treatment of pancreatic and biliary tract tumors, with more than 600 cured cases of biliary and pancreatic tumors each year. The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Renji Hospital was the first in China to advocate the concept of “complete mesopancreas excision for pancreatic head cancer,” giving more patients the opportunity to undergo radical surgery and increasing the R0 resection rate and five-year survival rate; it proposed a series of treatment strategies for liver metastases from pancreatic cancer, improving the overall treatment outcomes of these patients; it was among the earliest to propose the treatment concept of anatomical hepatectomy and hilar lymph node dissection for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, achieving good treatment results; and it was a pioneer both in China and internationally in performing and refining numerous surgical approaches for radical resection of gallbladder cancer, filling several international gaps in treatment concepts. In addition, the Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Renji Hospital conducts individualized treatment research on ErbB signaling pathway mutations in patients with gallbladder cancer and, through its established gallbladder cancer biobank, has effectively prolonged the survival of patients with gallbladder cancer without increasing adverse reactions, serving as one of the exemplary models of translating basic research into clinical practice. The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery has domestically first-rate endoscopic and laparoscopic technologies and uses laparoscopy, choledochoscopy, and duodenoscopy for minimally invasive treatment of extrahepatic biliary tract stones; percutaneous transhepatic biliary puncture (PTC); endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP); percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder puncture and drainage (PTGBD); biliary interventional treatment via a sinus tract; and single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In addition, the Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery performs laparoscopic/robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy, pancreatic body-and-tail resection, splenectomy, partial hepatectomy, and various abdominal wall hernia repairs (such as inguinal hernia, incisional hernia, and parastomal hernia repairs, etc.); minimally invasive procedures account for more than 60% of the total number of biliary and pancreatic operations. By combining the concept of enhanced recovery with day surgery, the Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Renji Hospital follows the concept of “rapid, precise, and minimally invasive,” completing 4000 day-surgery procedures each year, of which laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hernia repair, and ERCP account for more than 80% of the total volume of day surgery, greatly shortening hospital stays and reducing hospitalization costs. The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery has now developed a series of research directions on biliary tract tumors and pancreatic tumors, was the first internationally to successfully establish animal and cellular models of gallbladder cancer and to establish the gallbladder cancer mutational spectrum for the first time, and pioneered targeted therapy for gallbladder cancer internationally. It has also established a clinical specimen bank and database and has conducted various clinical studies, including the application of three-dimensional visualization during the perioperative period of biliary tract tumors, the clinical application of total mesopancreatic excision, translational treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer, strategies for hilar lymph node dissection in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, research on the extent of radical resection for gallbladder cancer, and research on the metabolic causes of gallstones. Since its establishment, the Department has undertaken more than 60 projects, including 31 national-level projects and 13 provincial- and ministerial-level projects; it has published more than 100 SCI papers. At present, the East Campus of the Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery has 47 beds and primarily treats biliary and pancreatic diseases and abdominal wall hernias, including various biliary diseases (gallbladder stones and intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct stones, choledochal cysts, gallbladder cancer, bile duct and ampullary cancers, etc.), pancreatic diseases (pancreatic cysts, pancreatic endocrine tumors, pancreatic cancer, etc.), and various inguinal hernias, incisional hernias, etc.; the West Campus has 24 beds and primarily treats retroperitoneal tumors and abdominal wall surgical diseases, including liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, malignant mesothelioma, and various inguinal hernias, incisional hernias, hiatal hernias, etc.; the South Campus has 51 beds and treats various general surgical diseases, including benign and malignant hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases, tumors of the stomach, small intestine, and colorectum, benign and malignant thyroid and breast tumors, various abdominal wall hernias, and poor wound healing, etc. The Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery currently has 45 clinical physicians on staff, including 26 with senior professional titles, 2 doctoral supervisors, and 9 master’s supervisors.