Dermatology

I. Department Overview, Qualifications, and Honors

The Department of Dermatology and Venereology of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated with Xiamen University was established as an independent department in the 1990s, formally entering a stage of specialized and standardized development. Director Liu Xiaokun was the department’s first academic leader and laid the foundation for its early clinical development. Subsequently, under the continuing leadership of Director Jiang Xiaoyong, the department’s overall strength in clinical care, education, and research has continued to rise, and its academic development has steadily advanced into the ranks of the province’s leading departments.

The department is a modern specialty in dermatology and venereology integrating medical care, education, research, and prevention. In 2006, it was designated a key specialty in the Xiamen Municipal Development Plan. In 2018, it was designated Xiamen’s first Fujian Provincial Clinical Key Specialty in Dermatology and Venereology. It also holds the qualifications of a national standardized residency training base and a National Drug Clinical Trial (GCP) base, with its overall strength consistently ranking among the leading dermatology specialties in Fujian Province.

The department has comprehensive specialty-platform qualifications. It has successively been approved as a National Demonstration Base for Medical Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine, a China Acne Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Demonstration Base, and a Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Demonstration Center for Psoriasis and Urticaria. It has also been recognized with multiple honors, including Demonstration Institution of the Fujian Provincial Dermatology and Venereology Specialty Medical Consortium and an advanced collective awarded the Xiamen “May 1 Pioneer” title. In the authoritative Chinese Hospital Science and Technology Value (STEM) rankings, the department ranked 76th nationwide and 1st in Fujian Province in the five-year overall ranking for 2019–2023. In 2024, it received the title of one of the “Top Ten Medical Humanities Hospitals/Departments” nationwide. Its overall academic influence and industry recognition rank among the leading institutions in China.

II. Core Diagnostic and Treatment Services

The dermatology diagnosis and treatment system comprehensively covers seven major areas: common skin diseases, refractory skin diseases, difficult and critical skin diseases, dermatologic surgery, laser cosmetology, hair-loss regeneration, and sexually transmitted diseases. The department currently has 10 open beds. In 2025, outpatient and emergency visits exceeded 150,000, and annual inpatient volume exceeded 340 patients. The department also actively participates in free medical consultation activities organized by health authorities, the hospital, and communities. Its service volume ranks among the leading departments of the same specialty in Xiamen.

The department is equipped with a complete set of internationally mainstream diagnostic and treatment equipment, including a 755-nm Q-switched alexandrite laser, ultrapulsed carbon dioxide fractional laser, 308-nm excimer ultraviolet phototherapy device, narrowband UVB, red and blue light therapy, helium–neon laser, and LED photodynamic therapy system. The total value of the equipment is approximately RMB 20 million. The department routinely performs precision testing, photoelectric therapy, chemical resurfacing, physical phototherapy, various dermatologic surgeries, and medical aesthetic repair procedures, providing patients with one-stop, standardized, and individualized skin-health diagnosis and treatment services.

Its services extend throughout southern Fujian and surrounding cities and provinces across Fujian. Its core diagnostic and treatment areas include:

1. Allergic and inflammatory skin diseases: standardized stepwise treatment and long-term chronic-disease management for eczema, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, pruritic skin diseases, drug eruptions, and other conditions; 2. Infectious skin diseases: precise diagnosis and treatment and recurrence prevention and control for herpes zoster, various viral warts, folliculitis, erysipelas, impetigo, tinea manuum and tinea pedis, onychomycosis, pityriasis versicolor, and other conditions; 3. Refractory pigmentary and inflammatory skin diseases: systematic and individualized long-term management of psoriasis, vitiligo, acne, rosacea, and other conditions; 4. Dermatologic surgical diseases: minimally invasive excision, meticulous repair, and comprehensive postoperative management for benign and malignant skin tumors such as melanocytic nevi and basal cell carcinoma, as well as scars, paronychia, ingrown nails, and other conditions; 5. Hair disorders: comprehensive intervention, regenerative treatment, and management of systems for hair maintenance, strengthening, and hair-loss prevention for androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, and various forms of telogen effluvium; 6. Pigmentary and vascular skin problems: precision laser treatment and barrier repair for freckles, nevus of Ota, melasma, telangiectasia, and other conditions; 7. Sexually transmitted diseases: standardized screening, standardized treatment, follow-up management, and health education for syphilis, condyloma acuminatum, and other conditions; 8. Difficult and severe skin diseases: treatment of critical illnesses such as severe drug eruptions, bullous skin diseases, lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and cutaneous vasculitis. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaborative diagnosis and treatment is routinely provided.

III. Specialized Subspecialties and Core Technical Advantages

The department has devoted extensive effort to the refined development of subspecialties and has established four leading specialty areas in the province: hair-loss regeneration, minimally invasive dermatologic surgery, precision testing, and laser medical aesthetics. These areas feature mature technologies, stable efficacy, and an excellent patient reputation.

(I) Hair-Loss Regeneration Diagnosis and Treatment Subspecialty

The department routinely performs PRP (platelet-rich plasma) hair-follicle regeneration therapy. By using autologous platelet growth factors to specifically activate atrophic hair follicles and improve the scalp microenvironment, and combining this approach with medications and physical therapy, it establishes systematic hair-loss prevention, hair-retention, and hair-growth programs. The treatment is suitable for individualized management of androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, and various forms of telogen effluvium.

(II) Minimally Invasive Dermatologic Surgery Subspecialty

The department performs gold microneedle minimally invasive definitive treatment for axillary osmidrosis, precisely targeting and destroying the apocrine glands. The procedure causes minimal trauma, allows rapid recovery, and has a low recurrence rate. It has also developed a mature day-surgery model for skin masses, enabling consultation, surgery, and discharge on the same day, with an efficient process and highly aesthetic cosmetic suturing. The department also performs excision of various benign and malignant skin tumors, scar revision, definitive treatment of ingrown nails, and meticulous postoperative follow-up management.

(III) Precision Noninvasive Testing Subspecialty

The department has established a comprehensive system for precision dermatologic diagnosis. It routinely performs noninvasive dermoscopic imaging diagnosis and rapid fungal immunofluorescence testing, enabling early screening, early differentiation, precise classification, and precise medication selection for skin diseases, thereby substantially improving diagnostic accuracy for difficult and occult skin diseases.

(IV) Multidimensional Laser Aesthetic Medicine Subspecialty

The department has established a complete photoelectric treatment platform equipped with a full range of devices, including DPL intense pulsed light, 755-nm Q-switched laser, picosecond laser, ultrapulsed CO₂ fractional laser, gold microneedles, and 308-nm excimer phototherapy. These technologies comprehensively cover freckle removal, tattoo removal, skin rejuvenation and tightening, acne-scar repair, scar improvement, and treatment of pigmentary and vascular problems, while addressing both disease treatment and the needs for skin rejuvenation and refined aesthetic repair.

IV. Multidisciplinary MDT Collaboration and Full-Cycle Chronic-Disease Management

For difficult and critical skin diseases such as severe drug eruptions, autoimmune skin diseases (lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis), bullous diseases, and systemic vasculitis, the department has established a mature MDT multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment mechanism. It coordinates resources from rheumatology and immunology, critical care, pharmacy, imaging, pathology, and other disciplines to formulate individualized treatment and rescue plans and improve the success rate of treating complex and severe skin diseases.

At the same time, the department has established a full-cycle skin-health management system covering the entire process from initial assessment, precision treatment, sequential maintenance, recurrence prevention, and postoperative repair to long-term follow-up. This system provides standardized, continuous, and meticulous management for various skin problems, including allergic diseases, psoriasis, acne, hair loss, and the postoperative period following medical aesthetic procedures.

V. Talent Structure and Expert Strength

The department currently has 25 staff members, including 8 staff with senior professional titles, 8 doctoral degree holders, and 2 master’s supervisors. Its talent structure is well balanced, its educational level is high, and its members possess both clinical and research capabilities, making it one of the strongest dermatology specialty teams in the province.

Academic leader and Chief Physician Jiang Xiaoyong currently serves as Deputy Chair of the Dermatology Branch of the Fujian Medical Association. He is also a member of the Dermatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and a member of the Venereology Group of the Dermatology and Venereology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. He has long led the department’s clinical technological innovation, subspecialty development, and high-quality advancement in research and education, promoting the department’s continued position as a provincial leader and nationally recognized institution.

The department has recruited research expert Associate Chief Physician Lin Shangqing, who graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Peking Union Medical College (Tsinghua University School of Medicine). He is a Class C high-level talent in Fujian Province and a Class C high-level talent in Xiamen. He has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and multiple provincial- and municipal-level research projects. He currently serves as a member of the Dermatology Professional Committee of the Chinese Research Hospitals Association, a youth member of the Dermatology and Venereology Professional Committee of the Chinese Association of Integrative Medicine, and a Standing Committee Member of the Dermatology and Venereology Prevention and Control Professional Committee of the Fujian Preventive Medicine Association, among other positions. He leads the vigorous development of dermatologic research.

VI. Coordinated Development of Medical Care, Education, and Research

(I) Clinical Care

The department adheres to the diagnostic and treatment philosophy of “precision, standardization, humanity, and quality.” Relying on its comprehensive equipment platform, complete subspecialty structure, and mature specialty technology system, it provides one-stop, high-quality dermatologic medical services covering common diseases, difficult diseases, dermatologic surgery, photoelectric aesthetics, and sexually transmitted disease diagnosis and treatment.

The department’s outpatient clinic is located in Area D on the 9th floor of Building 7, the new outpatient building of the main campus, Building 7. It provides consultations basically throughout the year, including weekends, without interruption, greatly meeting the medical needs of residents in the region.

(II) Education and Training

As a national standardized residency training base in dermatology, the department has 8 staff members with senior professional titles, 8 doctoral degree holders, and 2 master’s supervisors. Several physicians also serve as associate professors or assistant professors at medical schools. The department undertakes theoretical teaching and clinical instruction in dermatology for undergraduates, overseas students, and graduate students from Xiamen University, Fujian Medical University, Xiamen Medical College, and several other institutions of higher education.

The current pass rate for the standardized residency training completion examination is 100%. The department’s team won second place nationwide in the 2021 National Dermatology Medical Knowledge Challenge and first place nationwide in 2024. Difficult-case discussions, dermatopathology slide review, professional learning sessions, and teaching discussions are held every week. The department emphasizes systematic instruction and clinical skills development and continuously provides high-level dermatology professionals to Fujian Province and other regions.

(III) Research Innovation

In the Chinese Medical Academy Science and Technology Value (STEM) rankings, the department ranked first among dermatology specialties in Fujian Province for multiple consecutive years in 2019–2021 and 2023. It has successively undertaken multiple Fujian Provincial and Xiamen Municipal research projects. In 2022, it received approval for a National Natural Science Foundation of China project, achieving a breakthrough from zero in National Natural Science Foundation funding for dermatology in southwestern Fujian.

Over the past decade and more, the department has published nearly 40 papers in SCI-indexed journals and national- and provincial-level core journals and has participated in the publication of 2 medical monographs. Relying on the national GCP drug clinical trial base platform, it continuously conducts clinical research on new dermatologic drugs, clinical translation of specialty technologies, and basic research. It uses research to empower clinical technology iteration and continuously improves the levels of standardized and precision diagnosis and treatment.

VII. Core Comprehensive Advantages of the Department

1. High-level platform qualifications and strong brand value: The department has Xiamen’s first provincial-level key dermatology specialty and integrates a national standardized residency training base, a GCP base, and multiple national specialty-disease demonstration bases. The level of its specialty platform ranks among the leading platforms in the province.

2. Outstanding specialty technologies and strong clinical competitiveness: It has established distinctive brands in hair-loss regeneration, minimally invasive treatment of axillary osmidrosis, dermatologic day surgery, and precision photoelectric repair, with mature technologies, stable efficacy, and significant differentiated advantages.

3. High-quality talent structure and strong academic momentum: The proportion of personnel with senior professional titles and high educational qualifications is high. The academic leader serves as a deputy chair of a provincial academic society, and the team has strong academic influence.

4. Authoritative academic recognition and high overall rankings: The department ranked first in the province and among the top 80 nationwide in the five-year STEM ranking, and received a national honor for medical humanities departments. It leads in both overall strength and service reputation.

5. Full subspecialty coverage and comprehensive diagnostic and treatment scenarios: The department provides full-scenario coverage of dermatologic diagnosis and treatment, from common diseases, chronic-disease management, and treatment of difficult and critical diseases to surgical procedures and photoelectric aesthetics, meeting diverse skin-health needs across all age groups.

VIII. Development Vision

In the future, the department will continue to uphold the service philosophy of “patient-centeredness,” focus deeply on precision diagnosis and treatment, minimally invasive treatment, full-course management of chronic skin diseases, and medical aesthetic repair, and continue to strengthen subspecialty development, talent-team cultivation, and coordinated development of medical care, education, and research. It will further consolidate its position as a provincial leader and nationally advanced department, providing residents of southern Fujian and the entire province with more standardized, more precise, higher-quality, and more compassionate skin and venereal disease health services.