Otolaryngology

The Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Renji Hospital was established in 1949. It is a National Drug Clinical Research Base (Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery specialty), a Shanghai Standardized Residency Training Base for Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, and a member institution of the Shanghai Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Quality Control Center. It is also the deputy director institution of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; the deputy director institution of the Institute of Otorhinolaryngology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Institute of Otology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; a standing committee member institution of the Otorhinolaryngology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; a vice-president institution of the Otorhinolaryngology Branch of the Shanghai Medical Doctor Association; and the lead institution for the Head and Neck Group, the Rhinology Group, and the Voice Group of the Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association. It currently maintains regular academic exchanges with Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, the College of Health and Science of Portland University in Oregon, USA, and the University of Paris VII, France. The former directors of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology were: Mao Chengyue, He Yongzhao, Jin Ximing, Zhao Jiyu, Wang Jiayu, Zhou Liang, Wang Jiadong, and Li Jiping. The Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Renji Hospital has strong clinical capabilities, with outpatient, emergency, and surgical volumes ranking among the leading comprehensive hospitals in China. In 1965, the department took the lead in China in performing type III procedures on the large tympanic cavity; in the 1960s, it published China’s first monograph on audiology, Introduction to Audiology; beginning in the 1980s, it initiated the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; in 1990, it successfully performed the first resection of an acoustic neuroma via the auditory nerve; in 1991, it was the first in China to perform cricohyoidoepiglottopexy for the treatment of laryngeal cancer, for which the relevant achievements received the Third Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award; beginning in 1990, it performed thyroid and parathyroid surgery and, at the same time, surgical treatment of parotid and submandibular gland tumors and tongue cancer; beginning in 1991, it was among the earliest in China to perform functional endoscopic sinus surgery, introducing the concepts of minimally invasive treatment, precision, and preservation of nasal function into the treatment of nasal diseases, while continuously expanding endoscopic procedures related to the nose and orbit and to the nose and skull base. The department diagnoses and treats severe diseases including otorhinolaryngological tumors, and performs various operations for advanced laryngeal cancer, tonsillar cancer, nasal cavity and skull-base tumors, and other conditions. At the same time, it has continuously standardized and optimized minimally invasive surgery, forming diagnostic and treatment teams for minimally invasive surgery of pharyngolaryngeal tumors, endoscopic nasal surgery, and endoscopic ear and middle-ear surgery. Beginning in 2013, the department took the lead in China in performing daytime and day-return surgeries in otorhinolaryngology, minimizing patients’ hospital stays while ensuring the quality of medical care and achieving favorable social response. Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Renji Hospital has established a discipline development platform featuring minimally invasive surgery for nasal diseases and nasal skull-base diseases, with multiple subspecialties advancing in parallel, including endoscopic ear surgery, endoscopic pharyngolaryngeal surgery, sleep apnea syndrome, allergic nasal diseases, vertiginous diseases, audiological diseases, and otorhinolaryngological tumors. Upholding the service philosophy of “everything for the patient,” the discipline was among the earliest in China to establish a multidisciplinary team-based treatment model for otorhinolaryngological tumors, greatly improving the quality of life and survival rates of patients with intermediate and advanced tumors. The department has undertaken numerous projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, and has received the Ministry of Health Science and Technology Progress Award, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Achievement Award, the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, the Shanghai Medical Science and Technology Award, and others. The department regularly organizes academic activities including the “New Theories and Advances in Minimally Invasive Otorhinolaryngological Surgery Study Course,” the “Renji Rhinology Forum,” and the “Nasal Endoscopy Skills Training Course.” Over the past ten years, it has held annual public science education and free clinic activities including “Love Your Nose Day,” “Love Your Ears Day,” “Voice Day,” and “Sleep Day.” It has published more than 10 monographs and completed one audiovisual teaching program in otorhinolaryngology for the Ministry of Health.