Neurosurgery

The Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, is the birthplace of neurosurgery in China and a cradle for cultivating neuroscience talent. It was founded in 1958 by Professor Zhao Yicheng, known as the “Father of Chinese Neurosurgery.” After nearly 70 years of development, it has become a renowned medical, research, and teaching center for neurosurgery at home and abroad. It is also China’s National Medical Center for Neurological Diseases, one of the first national clinical key specialty training bases, one of the first neurosurgery specialist physician training bases, and China’s foreign-aid training base for neurosurgery.

Professors Zhao Yicheng, Academician Wang Zhongcheng, Professor Ding Yuji, and Professor Ling Feng successively served as department directors. In December 2018, the department’s new building, the China International Neuroscience Institute (China-INI , China International Neuroscience Institute), was officially put into use; in January 2025, the former Department of Neurosurgery and the former Department of Functional Neurosurgery were merged to establish a new Department of Neurosurgery. Building on the past and opening up the future, the Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital has thus embarked on an entirely new journey!

At present, under the leadership of the current department director, Zhang Hongqi, and Party general branch secretary, Hong Tao, the department has 127 doctors, including 44 chief physicians and 32 associate chief physicians, as well as 7 research personnel, 12 technical personnel, and a nursing team of more than 200 members. It is also a qualification-certification training base of the Chinese Nursing Association for critical care, rehabilitation, and nutrition nurses, as well as a training base of the Beijing Nursing Association for pediatric specialty nurses and nursing management specialty nurses. The department has a total of 407 beds, including 47 beds in the neurosurgical intensive care unit, and performs more than 14,000 neurosurgical operations of various types each year. It is equipped with top-level operating microscopes, intraoperative MRI equipment, intraoperative angiography systems, stereotactic robots, neuronavigation systems, and other equipment. It has 16 dedicated operating rooms (including 3 DSA hybrid operating rooms and 1 MRI hybrid operating room), 6 neurointerventional catheterization rooms, 1 Gamma Knife treatment room, and 2 radiotherapy linear accelerators. The department comprises: 1. Cerebrovascular Disease Center 2. Cerebral Revascularization Center 3. Neurospine Center 4. Brain Tumor Center 5. Functional Neurosurgery Center 6. Pediatric Neurosurgery Center 7. Neurocritical Care Center 8. Radiosurgery Center 9. Brain Trauma and Cerebral Hemorrhage Center 10. Neuroelectrophysiological Monitoring Team, along with a total of 10 subspecialty groups, 29 diagnosis and treatment groups, and 58 attending physicians. Together, they form a medical team covering all subspecialties of modern neurosurgery and provide patients with comprehensive, high-quality support for the diagnosis and treatment of various complex nervous system diseases.

While providing high-quality medical services to every patient, the department is also a scientific research base in China for brain science and major diseases. It has established research platforms including the Beijing Institute of Functional Neurosurgery, the Institute of Cerebrovascular Disease of Capital Medical University, the Institute of Spinal and Spinal Cord Diseases of Capital Medical University, the Intelligent Manufacturing Laboratory, the Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the Spinal Cord Injury and Functional Reconstruction Laboratory. It also collaborates with various research universities, institutions, and industry organizations to conduct scientific research and exploration. It carries out in-depth research on cerebrovascular diseases, epilepsy, spinal and spinal cord diseases, brain tumors, and many other diseases, as well as advanced neurosurgical technologies. The department has 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 person in the national “Hundreds-Thousands-Ten Thousands” Talent Program, 1 Beijing Scholar, 2 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 1 recipient of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, and 4 Beijing Science and Technology Rising Stars. It has undertaken more than 200 national-, provincial-, and ministerial-level projects, received cumulative research funding exceeding RMB 300 million, published more than 400 papers in international scientific journals such as NEJM, JAMA, and BRAIN in recent years, formulated more than 10 domestic industry-standard guidelines and consensuses, and authored more than 20 professional books. It has received 1 Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 First Prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 First Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award.

Since its establishment, the Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital has been a cradle for cultivating neurosurgical talent in China. Beginning in 1959, entrusted by China’s Ministry of Health, it organized national refresher courses for neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists. It has trained approximately 2,500 visiting doctors in total, supplying the country with a large number of leading figures in neurosurgery. The department has 17 doctoral supervisors, 32 master’s supervisors, 4 young doctoral supervisors, and more than 130 doctoral and master’s students currently enrolled. It has established the Yasargil Microsurgery Training Center, the Samii Skull Base Surgery Anatomy Training Center, the Microsurgical Spine Surgery Training Center, the Neuroendoscopy Training Center, and the Virtual Reality Training Center. Every year, it enrolls more than 40 trainees in standardized neurosurgical residency training and specialty training, as well as more than 200 visiting doctors from hospitals at all levels and in all regions.

The Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital has an excellent tradition of international cooperation and exchange and has established close partnerships with world-renowned neurosurgical centers and experts. At the beginning of its establishment, the department received guidance from Professor Penfield of the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI , Montreal Neurological Institute). Under the guidance of Professor Madjid Samii of the International Neuroscience Institute in Hannover (INI , International Neuroscience Institute), the China International Neuroscience Institute was established. The department has hosted the World Congress of Neurosurgery and the World Congress of Neurointervention and is a World Neurosurgical Residency Training Demonstration Center authorized by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS , The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies). More than 300 neurosurgeons from 56 countries and regions around the world have received training in the department. Experts have also been sent many times to Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Ethiopia, and other countries to provide long- or short-term medical assistance and teaching. Three internationally renowned experts who have engaged in in-depth cooperation with the department have received the Chinese Government Friendship Award: the world-renowned neurosurgical expert Madjid Samii, the world-renowned interventional neuroradiology expert Luc Picard, and the father of brain-computer interfaces, Miguel Nicolelis.

All medical and nursing staff of the Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital uphold the department motto, “Treading on thin ice, standing at the edge of an abyss; giving our utmost and pursuing perfection.” They treat every patient’s diagnosis and treatment, every research innovation, and every trainee’s development with wholehearted dedication, and take as their team value “a group of exceptionally skilled people working together harmoniously.” They strive tirelessly to build a world-class neurosurgery center.