Bone Injury Medicine Center

During the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty, “Luo’s School of Traumatology” was founded. In 1956, its fourth-generation successor, Luo Zhenyu, was honorably appointed by the Provincial Health Department and went to Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to establish a Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology. In 1959, the Department of Orthopedic Traumatology was formally established. For seventy years, the torch has been passed on. Through the tireless efforts of Mr. Luo Zhenyu, physicians Luo Guoliang and Luo Guowei, and successive generations of orthopedic-trauma professionals at the provincial hospital thereafter, the academic substance of the Luo School of Traumatology has continued to grow richer; it has innovatively proposed the theoretical system of “marrow-system bone diseases,” further refined the innovative treatment method of “treating the kidney and marrow together,” and established a new paradigm for integrated Chinese-Western-medicine treatment of orthopedic trauma.

The Department of Orthopedic Traumatology has three hospital campuses and five wards, with more than 270 beds, nearly 100 clinical physicians, 6 rehabilitation therapists, and 14 full-time research personnel. Holders of senior professional titles account for 50.1% of the staff, and doctorate holders account for 54.1%, including 2 experts receiving special allowances from the State Council, 1 nationally renowned master of traditional Chinese medicine in Zhejiang Province, 3 famous TCM physicians at the provincial level in Zhejiang, 2 leading health professionals in Zhejiang Province, 2 young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions in Zhejiang Province, 1 recipient of the Zhejiang Provincial Outstanding Young Scientists Fund, 2 selected candidates for the health innovation talent training program, 2 “Young Outstanding Talents” among the leading talents of universities in Zhejiang Province, 2 participants in Zhejiang Province’s “Hundred Talents Program,” 3 trainees under Zhejiang Province’s “New Century 151 Talent Project,” and 5 Zhejiang Medical Rising Stars.

Technical Strengths

The department’s clinical capabilities encompass the subspecialties of TCM orthopedics and traumatology, joints, spine, sports medicine, foot and ankle, trauma, bone tumors, pediatric orthopedics, rehabilitation, and others. It is at the national leading level in complex joint arthroplasty, minimally invasive treatment of spinal diseases, minimally invasive treatment of foot and ankle diseases, complex trauma and reconstruction, correction of congenital developmental deformities, traditional therapies for bone diseases, needle-knife techniques, TCM-specific techniques based on the “preventive treatment of disease–treatment–rapid rehabilitation service model,” the three methods for regulating the marrow, the three-part technical system for osteoarthritis and femoral head necrosis, Luo’s School of Traumatology Blood-Stasis-Resolving Paste for treating sprains and contusions, TCM bone-setting techniques, and other areas. It has truly achieved “high-level TCM and high-quality Western medicine,” realizing coordinated development of Chinese and Western medicine. The rate of visits by patients from outside the region is 79.6%, Grade III and IV surgeries account for 58.8%, and complex, severe, and critical cases account for 24.1% of discharged patients. Clinical and research work is conducted mainly around three major disease categories of strength and eight major technologies of strength.

1. Osteonecrosis and joint diseases (bone erosion and bone impediment): The department has innovatively developed a TCM theory of the occurrence and development of osteonecrosis and proposed a new theory of the etiology and pathogenesis of osteonecrosis: “kidney deficiency, marrow atrophy, and bone withering.” At the end of 2023, it introduced the internationally most advanced MAKO joint surgery robot, facilitating high-complexity operations; nearly 100 procedures have now been completed. Hip-preserving techniques, including vascularized pedicled bone-flap transplantation, nonvascularized bone grafting, and periacetabular osteotomy for congenital developmental dysplasia of the hip, have been well applied.

2. Spinal diseases and osteoporosis (low back and leg pain and bone flaccidity/weakness): The department has innovatively proposed treating lumbar disc herniation, spinal canal stenosis, and other conditions by reasoning from the liver. Minimally invasive spinal surgery (transforaminal endoscopy, biportal spinal endoscopy, OLIF, ENDO-P/TLIF) has developed vigorously. Over the past three years, it has introduced a 32-channel intraoperative neuromonitoring system, a Medtronic spinal robot, a 3D high-definition spinal microscope, and multiple other new pieces of equipment, providing solutions for difficult operations involving complex spinal and joint deformities, spinal tumors, and other challenging conditions.

3. Trauma and repair and reconstruction: The department has introduced a mobile X-ray machine (G-arm unit) and various surgical traction devices, and is a demonstration base for Academician Zhang Yingze’s double reverse traction technique. Its ability to treat complex conditions such as multiple trauma, complex pelvic fractures, open spinal injuries, high cervical spine trauma, and replantation of severed fingers (limbs) has continued to improve.

4. Foot and ankle surgical diseases: Integrating Chinese and Western medicine, the department is dedicated to treating, among others: foot and ankle deformities: hallux valgus, equinus foot, adult-acquired flatfoot, and adolescent flatfoot. It also treats acute and chronic foot and ankle trauma and sports injuries, including the diagnosis and treatment of chronic ankle instability; stepwise treatment of post-traumatic ankle arthritis, including ankle-preserving operations such as supramalleolar osteotomy and ankle replacement; and the diagnosis and treatment of foot and ankle diseases such as foot and ankle fractures and cartilage, muscle, and ligament injuries. Through its refined, minimally invasive, and individualized clinical approach, combined with gait analysis and 3D printing technology, it provides individualized treatment for patients.

5. Needle-knife and orthopedic-trauma rehabilitation: The department was the first in the province to comprehensively revise the treatment-operation SOP and operation flowcharts for small needle-knife therapy, promoting the standardization of small needle-knife treatment procedures. Orthopedic-trauma rehabilitation has introduced intelligent exercise-rehabilitation machines, a three-dimensional motion-capture and analysis system, an orthotic-insole evaluation and fabrication system, and new shoulder/knee/elbow/wrist-joint motion-training devices. Combined with TCM fumigation, physiotherapy, external treatment techniques, and modern physical therapies such as ultrasound electroconductive therapy, interferential-wave therapy, medium-frequency therapy, radial shock-wave therapy, and combined ultrasound electroconductive therapy, these provide individualized and precise means of rehabilitation for orthopedic-trauma patients.

Academic Standing

The department is currently a key discipline and key specialty of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a discipline of utmost importance and a first-class discipline in Zhejiang Province. In 2015, it was selected among the National Top 100 Departments (ranked 4th among disciplines); in 2018, it was selected as one of the best research-oriented specialties in Chinese medicine hospitals in China; and from 2021-2023, it was consecutively listed among the top ten departments by academic influence among the disciplines (specialties) of TCM hospitals. As the chairing institution for the Orthopedic Traumatology Branch of the China Association of Gerontological Health Care, the Orthopedic Traumatology Specialty Committee of the Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and the Orthopedic Traumatology Branch of the Zhejiang Association of Chinese Medicine, and as the lead institution of the Zhejiang Alliance of TCM Advantageous Specialties, it led the establishment of the National Alliance for Diagnosis and Treatment of Bone Circulation and Osteonecrosis, the Yangtze River Delta TCM Orthopedic Traumatology Quality-Control Alliance, the Zhejiang Province Hospital Alliance for Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteonecrosis and Joint Diseases, the Zhejiang Province Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteonecrosis and Joint Diseases, and others, and was listed among the first batch of “small but strong” innovation teams in Zhejiang Province. Relying on the Institute of Orthopedic Traumatology of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, the national first-class undergraduate course “Science of TCM Orthopedic Traumatology,” and the undergraduate major in TCM Orthopedic Traumatology at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, it has built an integrated Chinese-Western-medicine orthopedic-trauma diagnosis and treatment center combining clinical practice, classrooms, and laboratories and promoting coordinated development of the department, education, and research.

Research Achievements

The department has undertaken a total of 42 National Natural Science Foundation projects, including Regional Innovation Key Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Zhejiang Provincial Outstanding Young Scientists Fund projects, which also represented a first in the entire province’s TCM system. It has received 1 second prize of the Chinese Association of Integrative Medicine Science and Technology Award, 1 first prize of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association Science and Technology Award, 2 third prizes of the Chinese Association of Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Award, 1 first prize, 5 second prizes, and 3 third prizes of the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. As the principal drafting institution, it has issued 10 guidelines, formulated 2 standards, published more than 300 SCI articles, and served as chief editor of Trauma Emergency Medicine, Orthopedic Traumatology Surgery, Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Orthopedic Traumatology, and other higher-education planning textbooks for the national TCM industry under the 14th Five-Year Plan.