Obstetrics and Gynaecology

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital Affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine comprises Gynecology, Obstetrics, the Reproductive Center, and Neonatology. It has established the Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment Research for Reproductive Disorders of Zhejiang Province and the Clinical Medical Research Center for Obstetric and Gynecological Diseases (Reproductive Disorders) of Zhejiang Province. It is a key medical discipline of Zhejiang Province, the Zhejiang Provincial Reproductive Minimally Invasive Technology Guidance Center, one of the first national institutions for clinical stem-cell research, and the lead organization for National Key Research and Development Program projects, as well as the chairing institution of the Reproductive Medicine Branch of the Zhejiang Medical Association. There are currently 133 physicians, including 26 with senior professional titles, 4 doctoral supervisors, and 8 master’s supervisors, together with 171 specialist nurses. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has a group of experienced experts in gynecology, obstetrics, reproductive medicine, and neonatology. It provides the most appropriate treatment for benign and malignant lesions occurring in the female reproductive system, such as gynecological tumors, general gynecology conditions, gynecological endoscopy、、 and gynecological endocrine diseases; provides accurate and timely responses to normal pregnancy and delivery, labor analgesia, various abnormal pregnancies, and obstetric emergencies; and the Reproductive Center routinely performs various assisted reproductive technologies. Its artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization technologies are advanced, with leading success rates, and large numbers of infertile couples from within and outside the province and from China and abroad come for treatment because of its reputation. All staff of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology work together with dedication and sincere cooperation, and are willing to use excellent skills, solid theory, and full enthusiasm to relieve the suffering caused by disease for the majority of gynecological, obstetric, and infertile patients and help them recover as soon as possible.

Gynecology

Our Department of Gynecology routinely performs various operations, including laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, laparotomy, and colposcopy, providing the most appropriate treatment for all kinds of benign and malignant lesions of the female reproductive system, with an average annual surgical volume of more than 10,000 cases. It has developed distinctive specialty services including robot-assisted (da Vinci) surgery for gynecological malignant tumors, single-port laparoscopic treatment of gynecological benign tumors, and day-case hysteroscopy integrating diagnosis and treatment. The department has always upheld the concept of “fertility preservation” and pioneered numerous surgical approaches, including core-out salpingectomy preserving the ovarian branch vessels, hysteroscopic cold-knife sharp adhesiolysis protecting the endometrium, surgery for ovarian endometriotic disease protecting ovarian function, and myomectomy improving the pregnancy rate, thereby providing new opportunities for infertile women. The department has also conducted multiple national and provincial endoscopic training courses, making a positive contribution to the implementation and popularization of endoscopic technology in prefecture-level hospitals. It has become one of the first national training bases for Class IV gynecological endoscopic surgery; in 2011, reproductive minimally invasive surgery became an innovative discipline of the Provincial Health Department.

Obstetrics

The Department of Obstetrics of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital is the Zhejiang Provincial Center for the Treatment of Critically Ill Pregnant and Parturient Women and a national high-quality institution for maternal and infant safety, and has established the Zhejiang Provincial Prenatal Diagnosis Center. The Department of Obstetrics has an experienced team of expert physicians, with 86 mother-and-infant rooming-in beds and approximately 5,000 deliveries annually. Its specialty services include high-risk obstetrics, fetal medicine, genetic counseling, cervical insufficiency, postpartum pelvic-floor rehabilitation, recurrent miscarriage, neonatal diagnosis and treatment and care, and breastfeeding counseling. The department provides private delivery rooms and various human-centered services, such as painless delivery and doula-assisted delivery. Relying on the multidisciplinary strengths of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, it has formed a joint diagnosis and treatment team with Intensive Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, and other departments, greatly improving the treatment rate for critically ill pregnant and parturient women. It treats more than 2,000 critical cases each year, including approximately 200 extremely critical cases.

The Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital integrates the fetal medicine clinic, genetic counseling clinic, interventional operating room, cytogenetics laboratory, Department of Ultrasound, Department of Imaging, and other services. It provides:

1. Interventional prenatal diagnosis programs: chromosome testing of amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood, BoBs rapid prenatal testing, chromosomal microarray analysis, whole-genome sequencing, etc.;

2. Prenatal screening programs: NIPT, NIPT-P, NT examination, fetal systematic screening ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, fetal MRI, etc.;

3. Intrauterine fetal treatment programs: selective fetal reduction, amniotic-cavity puncture and drainage, fetal cyst puncture and drainage, intrauterine treatment of fetal supraventricular tachycardia, etc. Through multidisciplinary fetal consultations, it provides high-risk pregnant women with guidance and prognostic evaluation regarding eugenics and healthy reproduction, genetic diseases, adverse reproductive history, and medication use during pregnancy; prenatal diagnosis, intrauterine intervention, and prognostic evaluation for fetuses with developmental abnormalities; and pregnancy monitoring and coordinated postnatal treatment for fetuses whose pregnancies are continued, along with a series of supporting medical services.

Neonatology

The Department of Neonatology of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital is the Zhejiang Provincial Center for the Treatment of Critically Ill Newborns. It has 48 beds and is equipped with a total of 25 high-frequency and noninvasive ventilators, as well as a complete set of intensive neonatal rescue and monitoring equipment. Its medical and nursing team is highly capable, and physicians at all levels are proficient in resuscitation for asphyxia. It has reached a nationally advanced level in the rescue of critically ill newborns and in nutrition and respiratory management of premature infants. The survival rate of extremely preterm infants receiving rescue is at a nationally leading level; the lowest gestational age at successful rescue is 24+1 weeks, and the lowest birth weight is 600g.

Reproductive Center

The Reproductive Center routinely performs all types of assisted reproductive technologies, including first-, second-, and third-generation IVF. The total number of oocyte-retrieval cycles exceeds 8,000 annually, and the number of frozen-thawed embryo-transfer cycles exceeds 7,000, with a stable pregnancy rate. See the separate page for details.

Technical Advantages

The department is guided by “minimally invasive treatment” and “fertility preservation,” applying minimally invasive technologies and the concept of fertility preservation comprehensively to all fields of obstetrics and gynecology, including general gynecology, gynecological oncology, intrauterine lesions, female infertility, and recurrent miscarriage. At present, the department’s overall level of minimally invasive technology is advanced nationally and leading in the province. It is an important domestic center for exchange and training in minimally invasive technology and has distinctive expertise in the international minimally invasive field.

Nationally leading technologies:

1. The first case in China of pregnancy and delivery achieved through in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer after progestin treatment in a patient with endometrioid adenocarcinoma

2. The world’s first uncomplicated live birth following laparoscopic management of a cornual heterotopic pregnancy

3. Transvaginal modified cervical cerclage for recurrent miscarriage

4. Endometrial protection during hysteroscopic adhesiolysis

5. Laparoscopic core-out salpingectomy

6. Laparoscopic management of various complex ectopic pregnancies at special sites

7. Pregnancy rate after endometrial preparation and frozen-thawed embryo transfer

Laparoscopic tubal anastomosis for treatment of tubal recanalization

Hysteroscopic repair of cesarean-scar diverticulum

Leading in the province:

1. Various laparoscopic operations, such as ovarian, fallopian-tube, and uterine surgery, with emphasis on fertility preservation during surgery

2. Robot-assisted surgery for gynecological benign and malignant tumors, such as cervical cancer and endometrial cancer

3. Single-port laparoscopic treatment of gynecological benign tumors

4. Day-case hysteroscopy for simultaneous diagnosis and treatment of various intrauterine diseases

5. Laparoscopic removal of (difficult) uterine fibroids and excision of adenomyoma lesions

6. Laparoscopic excision of deep pelvic endometriotic lesions

7. Various laparoscopic hysterectomies, such as radical hysterectomy, and pelvic lymph-node dissection

8. Laparoscopic treatment of pelvic organ prolapse

9. Comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of cervical diseases combining cervical cytology, HPV testing, colposcopy, and LEEP

Academic Status

A national standardized residency training base and a key standardized residency training base in Zhejiang Province; one of the first national training bases for Level IV gynecological endoscopic surgery; and the Zhejiang Provincial Reproductive Minimally Invasive Technology Guidance Center. It was the first in China to conduct gynecological endoscopic training courses based on simulation models. It accepts numerous physicians from within and outside the province for further training, regularly organizes continuing education courses, conducts regional lectures on basic knowledge of reproductive endocrinology and reproductive minimally invasive techniques, and provides hysteroscopy simulation training for regional hospitals. It continuously improves the standardized diagnosis and treatment capabilities, clinical technical level, and scientific research and innovation abilities of practitioners in related specialties in all areas of Zhejiang Province and many regions throughout the country. Each year, it trains nearly 100 high-quality specialists through various avenues, including accepting medical students for internships and enrolling undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students, standardized residency trainees, and specialist physicians for further training.

Research Achievements

The discipline currently leads and undertakes 1 National Key Research and Development Program project, more than 20 National Natural Science Foundation projects, more than 30 provincial- and ministerial-level funds, and more than 50 department- and bureau-level projects. It has published more than 120 academic papers, including more than 90 SCI papers; obtained 3 nationally authorized invention patents and 2 utility-model patents; served as chief editor of 1 obstetrics and gynecology textbook and co-editor of 1; and led or jointly authored 8 Chinese expert consensuses. The research achievements received 1 first prize and 1 second prize of the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 first prize of the Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Science and Technology Award.