Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery
Overview
The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Wuxi No.2 People's Hospital (Jiangnan University Medical Center), established in 1990, was designated as a Key Clinical Specialty of Jiangsu Province in 2005. After over 30 years of dedicated development, it has grown into a provincial-level key clinical specialty integrating clinical practice, teaching and scientific research, a national standardized resident physician training base, one of China’s Top 100 Specialties, Jiangsu Minimally Invasive Surgery Training Center and Wuxi Youth Civilization Unit.
The department has 53 medical staff in total, including 16 personnel with master’s degrees or above (4 doctors, 2 PhD candidates), 19 senior professional title holders, 2 overseas returnees, 1 recipient of Jiangsu Provincial Six Talent Peaks Program, and 2 recipients of Wuxi Double-Hundred Outstanding Talents and Reserve Talents.
There are 96 beds in total across the north and south campuses, divided into specialized diagnosis and treatment groups for liver, biliary tract, pancreas and spleen diseases. It is equipped with advanced medical facilities such as ultra-high-definition 3D laparoscopic system, 4th-generation Da Vinci robotic surgical system, 4K fluorescent laparoscopic system, electronic choledochoscope, microwave ablation instrument, holmium laser lithotripter, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy system and intraoperative ultrasound. It admits nearly 3,000 inpatients and performs more than 2,500 operations annually, with the minimally invasive surgery rate exceeding 95%.
Treatment Scope
It mainly diagnoses and treats various hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases:
1.Biliary tract diseases: Gallbladder diseases including gallstones, cholecystitis, gallbladder polyps and gallbladder carcinoma, typically presenting with right upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting aggravated by greasy food; bile duct diseases including bile duct stones, cholangitis, cholangiocarcinoma and biliary ascariasis, often accompanied by obstructive jaundice such as scleral and cutaneous icterus, dark urine and pale stool.
2.Liver diseases: Space-occupying lesions such as liver cancer, hepatic hemangioma, hepatic cyst and liver abscess, manifested as dull liver pain, emaciation, fever or space-occupying masses detected by imaging; infectious and traumatic liver conditions including liver rupture and liver abscess requiring emergency surgical intervention.
3.Pancreatic and splenic diseases: Inflammatory diseases such as acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis complicated with pancreatic duct stones or pseudocysts; tumor diseases including pancreatic cancer, pancreatic duct stones, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and splenic space-occupying lesions, with typical symptoms like persistent epigastric dull pain, lumbodorsal radiating pain, weight loss and steatorrhea.
Technical advantages
The department boasts rich experience in the diagnosis and treatment of common, difficult and complicated surgical diseases of the biliary tract, pancreas, liver and spleen. It mainly treats benign and malignant hepatobiliary-pancreatic tumors, gallstones, benign gallbladder disorders, splenic diseases, retroperitoneal tumors, abdominal trauma, acute and chronic pancreatitis as well as critical abdominal surgical diseases, featuring laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).
It took the lead in carrying out laparoscopic and Da Vinci robot-assisted surgery for hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors in Wuxi, enjoying leading technologies in the city and advanced level in the province. Routinely performed sophisticated operations include laparoscopic hepatectomy of various liver segments, laparoscopic pancreatic surgery including traditional pancreaticoduodenectomy, distal pancreatectomy and innovative function-preserving local resection of pancreatic tumors.
An MDT team for hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors has been established in cooperation with the departments of oncology, gastroenterology, radiology and pathology. Multimodal and individualized conversion therapy is adopted for advanced malignant hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors, which has greatly improved the comprehensive therapeutic effect and 5-year survival rate of patients.
Research achievements
The department undertakes undergraduate and postgraduate teaching tasks for Jiangnan University Medical School and Nantong Medical School, with 3 master’s supervisors on staff.
It has presided over numerous research projects including Jiangsu Provincial Six Talent Peaks Program, Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation and general projects of Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission. Staff members have compiled 1 professional monograph, obtained 20 utility model patents and published over 100 academic papers including more than 30 SCI papers. The department has repeatedly won Jiangsu Provincial Medical Science and Technology Award, Provincial New Technology Introduction Award and Science and Technology Award from Jiangsu Anti-Cancer Association.