Health Care Gastroenterology Department

The Health Care Gastroenterology Department was established in July 2002. After 20 years of development and growth, the department currently has 17 beds and has become a clinical department distinguished by the diagnosis and treatment of geriatric digestive system diseases. The department currently has 7 physicians and 9 nurses, including 2 chief physicians, 2 deputy chief physicians, 1 associate research fellow, 1 chief nurse, 2 supervisors of master’s students, 1 Young Taishan Scholar, 1 chairperson of a provincial-level academic society, 1 renowned hospital expert, and 6 holders of medical doctorates. All nurses have bachelor’s degrees or higher, including 2 graduate students. The highly educated and specialized medical and nursing team provides strong support for all the department’s work.

The department has considerable strength in the diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of geriatric digestive diseases. It has consistently focused its clinical diagnosis and treatment, nursing, and research on geriatric digestive system tumors, cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, gastrointestinal polyps, and the rescue of critically ill patients with digestive diseases. For the common and difficult diseases of older adults, it has established a relatively complete system of diagnosis, treatment, and nursing. Through gastroscopy and colonoscopy screening and endoscopic treatment of early cancer, it has advanced the prevention and treatment of malignant digestive system tumors represented by esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colon cancer. By establishing an outpatient clinic for geriatric constipation, it provides elderly patients suffering from constipation with comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plans integrating systematic consultation, nutritional support, exercise guidance, and medication. The department is a national training base for specialist geriatric physicians and nurses and has successively received the honorary titles of “Top Ten Brand Department,” “Magnet Ward,” and “Geriatric Nursing Demonstration Ward.”

On the basis of completing its basic clinical work, the department has actively undertaken and successfully completed multiple healthcare and grassroots support assignments, earning many awards and unanimous praise from patients. It continues to conduct research on the pathogenesis of liver cancer; basic and clinical research on colon cancer prevention; research on small-intestinal barrier function in sepsis; research on the pathogenesis and treatment of liver fibrosis; and clinical and basic research on gastrointestinal stromal tumors. It has successively undertaken 13 provincial- and ministerial-level projects, 6 of which received awards; 9 projects at the level of the Provincial Health Department, 2 of which received department-level awards; published more than 50 SCI-indexed papers and more than 10 papers in Chinese Medical Association-level journals; obtained 2 invention patents and more than 10 utility model patents; served as chief editor of more than 10 works; and trained 3 master’s students.

The department’s leader, chief physician Liang Tiejun, is a supervisor of master’s students and a renowned expert at the Provincial Hospital. He currently serves as director of the Department of Geriatric Gastroenterology, standing committee member of the Geriatrics Professional Committee of the Shandong Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, deputy chairperson of the Herbal Paste Professional Committee of the Shandong Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, member of the Oncology Endoscopy Branch of the Shandong Anti-Cancer Association, member of the Gastroenterology Branch of the Shandong Medical Association, and member of the Endoscopy Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. He has worked in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine for more than 30 years and has achieved outstanding results in the diagnosis and treatment of liver fibrosis, liver cancer, and other conditions. In recent years, he has devoted himself to the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medical diagnosis and treatment of digestive tract tumors. He has profound expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of early digestive tract cancer and is skilled in various endoscopic treatment techniques, including the placement of difficult-to-place gastrointestinal stents for cancerous strictures of the esophagus, cardia, pylorus, duodenum, and colon. He has considerable academic influence in the field of geriatric gastroenterology in Shandong Province. He has successively trained 3 master’s students. As first author, he has published more than 60 papers in international and national medical journals, 16 of which are indexed by SCI, including 13 SCI papers published as first author. He has obtained 2 national invention patents and 4 utility model patents; served as chief editor of 2 medical books and participated in writing 3 medical books; led 2 provincial- and ministerial-level projects, participated in 2 provincial- and ministerial-level projects, and received awards for 2 projects. Among them, the project “Experimental Study on the Inhibition of Liver Cancer and Liver Fibrosis by Bile Acid Derivatives” received the First Prize of the Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award in January 2010.