Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, is a specialty renowned for rhinology and skull base surgery and highly influential in China. In 2007, the department formed a team in close collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery and established the Skull Base Surgery Center. It has completed a large number of high-quality, highly complex endoscopic skull base operations, breaking through several areas previously considered “off-limits” to endoscopic surgery, including the cavernous sinus, the craniovertebral junction, and the jugular foramen region, thereby expanding the application of endoscopic skull base surgery to skull base lesions. Endoscopic skull base procedures in almost every region were pioneered and reported nationally by this specialty, some being reported internationally for the first time. Its overall technical level has been recognized by two world-renowned skull base surgery centers in the United States and Europe. Through more than a decade of effort, it has developed into a specialty with strong overall team capabilities and mature, reliable techniques, widely recognized by peers both in China and abroad.

Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, is the only directly affiliated teaching hospital of Capital Medical University. The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery has a long history; from its establishment, its teaching and research office was responsible for undergraduate teaching in the clinical medicine program. It was also one of the earliest approved doctoral degree-granting sites and postdoctoral research stations in China. It has trained more than 20 doctoral students and hosted 6 postdoctoral researchers who completed their programs. It is currently a national- and Beijing-level training base for resident physicians and a Chinese Medical Doctor Association endoscopic training base (rhinology and laryngology). The department has held 16 consecutive National Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery Courses and 15 Endoscopic Skull Base Anatomy Training Courses, all of which are national continuing-education programs. In 2016, it began to pioneer the organization of the National Otologic Endoscopic Surgery Course in China.

Diagnostic and therapeutic specialties:

1. Endoscopic surgical treatment of sinonasal and skull base diseases

The department performs endoscopic skull base surgery in all regions of the skull base, including endoscopic resection of benign and malignant tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, endoscopic transnasal resection of intracranial–extracranial communicating tumors, and endoscopic transnasal resection of tumors of the infratemporal fossa. These procedures cover diseases including tumors, malformations, trauma, and special infections. It has accumulated extensive experience in repairing complex cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and in perioperative management of patients with difficult skull base tumors.

2. Temporal bone and lateral skull base surgery

Under the leadership of Professor Zhang Qiuhang, our department was among the earliest in China to perform tumor resection in the jugular foramen region via the infratemporal fossa approach and resection of intracranial–extracranial communicating tumors of the lateral skull base. It pioneered lateral skull base procedures such as endoscopic transoral resection of tumors in the jugular foramen region and endoscopic-assisted preauricular infratemporal fossa resection of tumors. Its clinical capabilities rank among the leading in China.

3. Otologic endoscopic surgery

The department is one of the first units in China to perform otologic endoscopic surgery and has organized the National Otologic Endoscopic Surgery Course. It was among the earliest to perform endoscopic balloon dilation of the eustachian tube. It has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of vertigo, pulsatile tinnitus, and intracranial and extracranial complications of otitis media.

4. Cochlear implantation in difficult cases

Professor Zhang Daoxing of our department is one of the earliest experts in China to perform cochlear implantation. He has completed nearly 10,000 cochlear implantations and developed original special surgical techniques for difficult cases such as cochlear ossification and common-cavity malformations. He has published more than 100 clinical papers related to cochlear implantation.

5. Laryngology and head and neck surgery

The department provides surgical treatment for common laryngopharyngeal diseases, obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome, and various benign and malignant head and neck tumors, such as head and neck schwannomas, carotid body tumors, pleomorphic adenomas of the parotid gland, laryngeal cancer, hypopharyngeal cancer, and benign thyroid diseases, with good results. Surgical treatment of snoring and CO2 laser-assisted laryngeal microsurgery are specialty features.