Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital

The Department of Orthopedics at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital was established in 1959. On January 2, 1963, orthopedic surgeon Chen Zhongwei and surgeon Qian Yunqing of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital performed the world's first successful replantation of a severed limb on Wang Cunbai, a worker whose right hand had been severed at the wrist. The success of limb replantation left a major mark on the history of modern medicine in China and worldwide, but the hospital's orthopedic team did not stop exploring. Its medical and nursing staff successively overcame numerous technical challenges related to limb replantation and accumulated extensive clinical experience. Building on the department's sustained investment in research, Dr. Yu Zhongjia successfully completed a world-class surgical innovation in October 1978. For the first time, he transplanted a patient's own toes to the stump of an amputated forearm, reconstructing a new hand with sensation and movement. This surgical achievement became known as the “Chinese hand.” The department's continued work in extremity microsurgery subsequently ensured that China's microsurgical capabilities remained at an internationally leading level for an extended period. Today, the department has again received the nation's trust and mandate. It will fulfill the corresponding responsibilities and tasks and drive development and high-quality growth in orthopedics throughout China. Relentless self-improvement and the courage to be first are the source of its spirit. Guided by this ethos, the department has continually advanced through inheritance and innovation and has gradually developed into an “aircraft-carrier-scale” orthopedic discipline with a complete organizational structure, distinctive technical strengths, and exceptional scientific and technological innovation capabilities. It encompasses 3 National Key Clinical Specialties—Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, and Emergency Medicine—and 2 disciplines under development as National Key Clinical Specialties—Trauma Surgery and Joint Surgery. It has 7 core technologies and 2 international training centers: the Shanghai International Extremity Microsurgery Training Center in China and the AO Trauma (China) Training Center. It has received 1 First Prize of the National Invention Award, 2 Second Prizes of the State Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 First Prize of the Chinese Medical Association Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 First Prize of the Huaxia Medical Science and Technology Award. It hosts 4 national, provincial, and ministerial research platforms, ranks first nationwide in the cumulative STEM specialty rankings and first nationwide in Fudan University's Best Hospital Specialty Rankings, and received the Gold Award of the Shanghai Municipal Government Quality Award in 2020. The department has established a series of complete technical standards and systems for diagnosis and treatment across every specialty direction involving common, frequently occurring, and difficult orthopedic diseases.

The Department of General Surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital comprises 5 subspecialties: Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Thyroid, Breast, and Hernia Surgery, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, and Vascular Surgery. In 1963, Professor Qian Yunqing of the department collaborated with Professor Chen Zhongwei of Orthopedics to complete the world's first successful replantation of a severed limb and was received and commended by Premier Zhou and other Party and state leaders. In 1979, Professor Lin Chaohong of the department established China's first gastric cancer cell line and received a First-Class Award from the Ministry of Health. Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery specializes in diagnosing and treating complex hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases. It is skilled in the surgical treatment of complex biliary stones, bile-duct injuries, liver cancer, biliary and pancreatic tumors, portal hypertension, and related conditions. It was the first in China to perform combined portal-vein resection and reconstruction for pancreatic head cancer and superior mesenteric artery skeletonization for pancreatic cancer, significantly improving surgical outcomes. A group of patients have now achieved long-term survival after pancreatic cancer surgery. The subspecialty was also the first in China and internationally to propose a theoretical system for perihilar surgery. In recent years, it has conducted clinical liver transplantation and damage-control, duodenum-preserving pancreatic head tumor resection. The subspecialty is a Shanghai Jiao Tong University doctoral training site and postdoctoral research station and has 4 doctoral supervisors. Gastrointestinal Surgery was among the earliest in China to conduct extended radical resection for gastrointestinal tumors, intraoperative radiation therapy, and hyperthermic perfusion, and it established China's first gastric cancer cell line. Centered on minimally invasive gastrointestinal technology, it applies the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) concept to achieve optimal standardized and individualized cancer treatment. It was the first in China to propose the concept of complex colorectal cancer and leads clinical care and academic work in the field. It is a nationally renowned center for treating recurrent and metastatic colorectal cancer and ranks among China's leaders in sphincter-preserving treatment for low and ultralow rectal cancer. The subspecialty is a Shanghai Jiao Tong University doctoral training site and postdoctoral research station. Vascular Surgery is a traditional specialty strength. In the 1960s, it pioneered the small-vessel anastomosis technique for severed limbs and completed the world's first successful limb-replantation operation. Its diagnosis and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, arteriovenous fistulas, vascular trauma, and various vascular diseases hold a prominent academic position in China. It extensively provides minimally invasive therapies for a wide range of vascular diseases. More than 90% of vascular conditions are cured through minimally invasive procedures using small incisions or no incisions and leaving no scars, forming a distinctive minimally invasive strength. For example, it was the first in China to provide laser treatment for varicose veins. This incision-free approach enables rapid recovery and is an optimal choice for patients with varicose veins. More than 2,000 patients have now been treated, ranking the program first in China.

The Department of Urology at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital was established in 1954 by Gao Rimei, one of the founders of urology in China. Since the 1950s, it has been renowned in China and abroad for urinary repair and reconstruction. In recent years, while retaining its established strengths, the department has widely adopted minimally invasive surgery, particularly robot-assisted laparoscopic techniques, and has achieved a series of remarkable accomplishments in medical care, research, and teaching. It is currently a key discipline under Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Project 211, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. With approval from the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, it established the Shanghai Eastern Institute of Urinary Repair and Reconstruction. With approval from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, it established the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Urethral Diseases. It is a master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral training site of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Soochow University, and its nursing division is a distinctive nursing specialty group of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. The discipline brings together outstanding professionals and has strong overall capabilities. It has 4 subspecialties: urethral repair and reconstruction and andrology; urologic tumors; urinary stones; and benign prostatic hyperplasia and urinary control. The department has received funding for 33 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects. First, the Urinary Tract Repair and Andrology subspecialty has explored and innovated in the diagnosis and treatment of urethral stricture through the unremitting efforts of several generations since the 1970s. It has developed a complete, detailed, and standardized set of methods for urethral repair and was the first in China to introduce multiple new diagnostic and treatment approaches.

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital is a National Key Clinical Specialty, a top-priority Shanghai Key Discipline, the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Sleep-Disordered Breathing, and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Otolaryngology. The hospital's Department of Otolaryngology was founded in 1904. It established the Inner Ear Electrophysiology Laboratory in 1985, the Shanghai Hearing Testing Center in 1989, and the Snoring Diagnosis and Treatment Center in 2002. In 2005, it established the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Otolaryngology Medical Consortium and took the lead in founding the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Otolaryngology. It established the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Vertigo in 2009 and the Shanghai Eastern Institute of Otolaryngology in 2010. In 2011, it was selected as a Ministry of Health National Key Clinical Specialty; in 2013, it was selected as a top-priority Shanghai Key Discipline; and in 2018, it was approved to develop the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Sleep-Disordered Breathing. The discipline comprises 3 subspecialties: Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. It hosts the Shanghai Hearing Testing Center, the Snoring Diagnosis and Treatment Center, and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Vertigo. It led the establishment of the Institute of Otolaryngology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the Shanghai Eastern Institute of Otolaryngology. It is a doctoral and master's training site and postdoctoral research station of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and a master's training site of Soochow University. In 2019, the discipline ranked 7th nationally in the Best Hospital Specialty Reputation Rankings of the Hospital Management Institute of Fudan University, 10th nationally in Peking University's Best Clinical Discipline Assessment in China, and 8th nationally for specialty scientific and technological influence in the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics rankings. Of the department's 36 physicians, more than 65% hold medical doctorates. The team includes 8 chief physicians, 9 associate chief physicians, 5 doctoral supervisors, and 7 master's supervisors. Team members have successively received support from talent-development programs including the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's National Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project, Shanghai Leading Talent, Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leader, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission Rising-Star Program, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Hundred Talents Program, and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission Double Hundred Talents Program. They have also received numerous honors, including Shanghai Youth Civilization Unit, Shanghai Top Ten Physician, Shanghai New Long March Pacesetter, Shanghai Health System Silver Snake Award, New Talent of the Century Award, Outstanding Communist Party Member of the Shanghai Science and Education Party Committee, Shanghai Medical Workers' New Talent in Science and Technology Innovation Award, and Meiji Dairies Life Science Award. Department members hold more than 60 appointments, counted by person-times, in national, provincial, and ministerial academic organizations.

The Department of Thoracic Surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital became an independent department after separating from Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2014. It is one of the hospital's priority clinical disciplines for development and specializes in the surgical diagnosis and treatment of thoracic tumors and chest trauma. The discipline is led by Yang Yi, a chief physician and master's supervisor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Soochow University. He is a member of the Thoracic Surgery Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association; a member of the Thoracic Oncology Group of the Oncology Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association; a member of the Lung Cancer Prevention and Control Professional Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention; an executive committee member of the Geriatric Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Gerontology (CGOS); a standing committee member of the Thoracic Surgery Professional Committee of the Shanghai Association of Chinese Integrative Medicine; an accreditation expert for the Thoracic Surgery Specialist Training Base of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; a corresponding editorial-board member of the Chinese Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery; an editorial-board member of the Chinese Journal of Thoracic Surgery; and a special editor of the Chinese Journal of Clinicians. After graduating from Shanghai Medical University in 1991, he joined the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Shanghai Chest Hospital. He transferred to Cardiothoracic Surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital in 2007. He has accumulated extensive clinical experience in diagnosing, differentiating, and surgically treating common and difficult general thoracic conditions, with particularly deep expertise in comprehensive and individualized lung cancer treatment and the surgical diagnosis and treatment of chest trauma. He has published more than 30 papers in Chinese and international journals and has served as principal investigator or major contributor on multiple research projects of the Ministry of Health, Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau. The department has two principal clinical strengths. First, in surgical treatment of intrathoracic tumors, minimally invasive surgery represents the direction of development in thoracic surgery because it causes less trauma and permits faster recovery. The department can now perform various minimally invasive procedures through 3 ports or a single utility port, including pulmonary resections, radical lung cancer surgery, mediastinal tumor resection, and radical esophageal cancer surgery. It also performs radical surgery with expanded indications for locally advanced tumors. For locally advanced lung cancer and giant mediastinal tumors, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are administered before surgery. The department can perform highly difficult procedures such as partial atrial resection, vena cava replacement, and carinal resection and reconstruction. It collaborates with Medical Oncology, Pulmonary Medicine, Radiation Therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and other relevant departments to provide multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment with favorable results. Second, in the surgical diagnosis and treatment of chest trauma, the hospital's distinctive strengths include Emergency Medicine as a National Key Discipline and the location of the Shanghai Acute Trauma Emergency Center at the hospital. The department therefore admits large numbers of patients with chest trauma each year. Its related diagnostic and treatment volume ranks first in Shanghai and among the highest in China.

The Department of Plastic Surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital was founded in 2002 and is a medical, teaching, and research base integrating plastic surgery, medical aesthetics, education, and research. Building on the hospital's strengths in trauma repair and microsurgical reconstruction, it upholds the principle that injury should not result in disability and disability should not preclude function. In combination with medical aesthetics, it provides a range of plastic and reconstructive services that have achieved favorable social benefits and public recognition. The current medical team comprises 4 professionals with senior titles, 3 with intermediate titles, and 2 with junior titles, including 7 staff members with doctoral degrees and 2 with master's degrees. As a Shanghai Jiao Tong University doctoral and master's training site, the department has 1 doctoral supervisor and 2 master's supervisors. From 2021 through 2026, it was twice designated a Shanghai Jiao Tong University training base for interdisciplinary medical-engineering talent. It has received funding for 7 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, 1 Double Hundred Talents Program project of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and multiple General and Key Projects of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, with cumulative research funding exceeding RMB 6 million. In addition, the department has undertaken more than 10 international and domestic multicenter Phase II and Phase III drug trials and trains several postgraduate students, visiting physicians, and physicians in standardized residency training each year. The department currently has separate outpatient and inpatient diagnostic and treatment areas. Its outpatient area includes an independent outpatient operating room, injection-treatment room, and light- and energy-based treatment room. The inpatient ward has 18 beds in total, including 6 special-care beds. Annual volumes exceed 12,000 outpatient visits, 3,000 operations, and 1,000 inpatient admissions. The department has a range of advanced therapeutic devices, including the Alma Black Gold DPL phototherapy device, Alma Golden Thermal Lift 2.0 device, Alma Laser Peak CO2 ultra-pulsed laser, Hainuola skin-booster injection device, Body-Jet water-assisted liposuction system, Zimmer electric and pneumatic dermatome systems, Shepai- and Yingguan-brand powered saws for osteotomy and bone contouring, endoscopes for breast augmentation and facial rhytidectomy, an FUE-2 electric hair-transplant system, and a Doppler vascular detector. This equipment meets routine diagnostic and treatment needs in plastic surgery and medical aesthetics. The department's work spans reconstructive surgery, medical aesthetics, and clinical research. It hosts the hospital's Facial Rejuvenation Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Center and Scar Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Center. Alongside surgery, the department provides minimally invasive injectable procedures and light- and energy-based therapies, offering people seeking aesthetic care across all age groups extensive options for routine skin care and noninvasive facial rejuvenation and anti-aging treatment.

Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital has provided anesthesia services since the hospital was founded, and the Department of Anesthesiology became an independent department in 1984. Through the efforts of several generations of anesthesiology professionals, it has become a Key Discipline of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Practice and Training Base for Innovative Interdisciplinary Talent; a master's and doctoral degree-granting site in anesthesiology and a postdoctoral research station in anesthesiology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; a national drug clinical-trial base and National Health Commission specialist-physician training base; and the National Orthopedic Anesthesia Training Center and Regional Anesthesia Training Center. The department consistently places clinical care at its core, improves service quality, encourages technological innovation, and emphasizes coordinated development of professional education and research. In the new era, it keeps pace with scientific and technological opportunities, promotes interdisciplinary integration, builds a big-data network, and plans AI-enabled smart health care. It carries forward the spirit of respecting life, healing the wounded and rescuing the dying, extending boundless compassion, and embracing dedication. It values public-interest work and departmental culture and has formed a distinctive development model of “clinical care first, equal emphasis on teaching and research, smart integration, and public service as a priority.” As the opening of the 15th Five-Year Plan approaches, department director Xu Tao, representing the new leadership team, issued a strategic plan for high-quality disciplinary development. It charts a blueprint for developing new-quality productive forces in anesthesiology over the next 5 years, focusing on establishing an Anesthesiology Clinical Research Center, a Medical-Engineering Interdisciplinary Research Center, and a Center for Anesthesia Artificial Intelligence and Perioperative Big Data. The plan will comprehensively empower and advance in coordination five disciplinary systems: technology, teaching, research, intelligence, and public service. As a technology-oriented discipline and service platform, Anesthesiology is a core hospital platform that provides strong support for the rapid development of related disciplines. It delivers anesthesia for more than 150,000 procedures each year, with general anesthesia accounting for over 80%, and performs more than 100,000 ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks annually. Its anesthesia volume for orthopedic surgery and its number of difficult and critical cases both rank first in Shanghai. Its scope encompasses anesthesia for clinical surgery, critical-care rescue, anesthesia for critically ill pregnant and postpartum patients, anesthesia for day surgery, and anesthesia for pain-free diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, meeting diverse clinical needs. The Xuhui campus currently has 5 major surgical areas with a total of 83 operating rooms, while the Lingang campus has 51 operating rooms. In accordance with specialty characteristics and development needs, these areas are equipped with advanced anesthesia equipment, monitoring systems, and multiple multifunctional ultrasound systems. Operating rooms at every campus have dedicated anesthesia preparation rooms and post-anesthesia care units (PACUs) built to high standards.

Pain diagnosis and treatment is a key specialty strength of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. It was founded in 1988 by the late Professor Xu Huifang and is now one of China's largest specialty units for diagnosing and treating acute and chronic pain. Annual outpatient volume has surpassed 40,000 visits, and the overall effective rate is 85%–90%. Its first diagnostic and treatment strength is care for various forms of neuropathic pain, including acute and postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, phantom-limb and residual-limb pain after amputation, intractable upper-limb pain after brachial plexus injury, and failed back surgery syndrome. For these types of refractory neuropathic pain, the specialty uses comprehensive treatment and has achieved satisfactory therapeutic results.