Department of Vascular Surgery

The Department of Vascular Surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital is one of the earliest institutions in China to engage in vascular surgery and is currently one of the most renowned centers for the diagnosis and treatment of complex vascular diseases in the country. It shares the status of a key clinical discipline with basic surgery, recognized by the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission. It serves as a national and Beijing-based continuing education base for vascular surgery and a residency training base, as well as a training base for endovascular treatment techniques.

The department is internationally recognized and domestically leading in the treatment of vascular diseases. As early as the 1950s, under the leadership of renowned surgical experts such as Zeng Xianjiu and Zhu Yu, many surgical treatments for vascular diseases, including aortic aneurysms, were initiated, laying the foundation for surgical treatment of vascular diseases. In the early 1980s, under the advocacy of then-surgical director Professor Zeng Xianjiu, the vascular surgery specialty group was formally established at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, with renowned vascular surgery expert and academician Professor Wang Zhonghao leading the work. Significant achievements were made in the treatment of complex conditions such as Budd-Chiari syndrome and aneurysms, and the Chinese Medical Association's Vascular Surgery Group was founded, with Professor Wang serving as its first leader. In 1985, renowned vascular surgery expert Professor Guan Heng took over the leadership of the vascular surgery specialty group. In September 2002, with the merger of Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the former Post and Telecommunications General Hospital, the Department of Vascular Surgery was officially established as an independent clinical tertiary discipline, located in two wards in the East and West hospitals, with Professor Guan serving as the first director, chief expert, and leader of the discipline, laying a solid foundation for the development of vascular surgery.

In 2005, renowned vascular surgery expert Professor Liu Changwei succeeded Professor Guan as the director of the vascular surgery department, becoming the second director, chief expert, and leader of the discipline. He also serves as the deputy leader of the Vascular Surgery Group of the Chinese Medical Association, leading the team to grow and excel academically and technologically, becoming one of the most influential teams in the field of vascular surgery in China.

In 2008, following the directive to strengthen the West Hospital, the vascular surgery department, along with five other specialty departments, was relocated to the West Hospital, consolidating the two wards into a single independent vascular surgery ward with integrated resources and unified management. This led to rapid development in minimally invasive endovascular treatment and the management of complex critical conditions.

In 2013, the new surgical building at the East Hospital was completed, and the vascular surgery department was fully relocated back to the new surgical building, equipped with the most advanced vascular surgery hybrid operating rooms, an advanced information management system, and spacious, comfortable modern wards. The revamped outpatient and emergency care environment provides higher quality medical treatment and care for patients, reflecting the hospital's philosophy of treating patients like family and staff like relatives. In 2014, a non-invasive examination room was established, along with a comprehensive management group for instruments and equipment, with three technicians responsible for the scientific and information-based management of instruments and consumables and the non-invasive examination process. In 2016, the Vascular Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center was established, achieving excellence in minimally invasive treatment for venous thromboembolic diseases and varicose veins. The department has received multiple hospital medical achievement awards and numerous national and provincial-level scientific and technological awards, including the 2017 China Science and Technology Third Prize and the China Science and Technology Second Prize, marking the best period in the department's development since its establishment.

Currently, the vascular surgery department has a total of 33 medical staff, including 13 clinical physicians, among whom there are 3 full professors and doctoral supervisors, 2 associate professors, and 6 attending physicians. The department has 46 hospital beds, two hybrid operating rooms, and an independent non-invasive examination room. The annual outpatient and surgical volumes have been increasing year by year, with the latest data showing that in 2017, the outpatient volume reached 29,728 visits (including 27,967 regular outpatient visits and 1,761 international special outpatient visits), and the annual surgical volume was 1,508 cases (of which 1,347 were level III and IV surgeries, accounting for 89.3%).

Professor Liu Changwei, the director and leader of the department, is a renowned vascular surgery expert in China. He currently serves as the deputy leader of the Vascular Surgery Group of the Chinese Medical Association, vice-chairman of the Vascular Surgery Specialty Committee of the Chinese Physician Association, chairman of the Vascular Surgery Branch of the China Medical Care International Exchange Promotion Association, president of the Vascular Surgery Specialist Committee of the Beijing Medical Association, and chairman of the Expert Committee on Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of the Beijing Medical Association. Internationally, he serves as the vice-chairman of the International Venous Forum in China and deputy editor of the American SCI journal 'Annals of Vascular Surgery.' He founded the professional journal 'Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery' in China and serves as its editor-in-chief, while also holding editorial positions in several core domestic journals. Director Liu emphasizes discipline leadership, team building, and talent cultivation, leading the vascular surgery team to carry out numerous innovative works in the fields of vascular surgery diagnosis and treatment and research, promoting the vigorous development of endovascular treatment techniques at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. He has also trained many young physician leaders, with Dr. Liu Bao and Dr. Ye Wei receiving the International Scholar Award from the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), and Dr. Ni Leng receiving funding from the National Study Abroad Fund for further study abroad, as well as the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Zheng Yu Tong Scholarship from the University of Hong Kong. Many doctors have received funding from the hospital's 'Hundred Talents Program' for further study abroad, establishing a strong departmental team.

The Department of Vascular Surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital has accumulated valuable experience from many senior experts, continuously improving its medical standards, and currently achieves international advanced levels in the treatment of many diseases. It serves as a national and Beijing-based training base for endovascular treatment techniques. The department's main diagnostic and treatment features include: endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, endovascular repair of aortic dissections, surgical and minimally invasive treatment of lower limb arterial occlusive disease, stenting for carotid artery stenosis, and carotid endarterectomy, interventional and surgical treatment of subclavian artery stenosis and vertebral artery stenosis, minimally invasive treatment of visceral artery diseases, surgical treatment of arterial and venous thromboembolic diseases, minimally invasive treatment of varicose veins, and comprehensive treatment of various complex critical conditions in vascular surgery.

In the field of aortic diseases, the department's research and clinical application of a comprehensive endovascular treatment system for complex aortic diseases have won the Second Prize of the China Medical Science and Technology Award and the Third Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award. In the surgical and minimally invasive treatment of lower limb arterial occlusive disease, it was the first in the country to carry out endovascular techniques combined with surgical treatment for multi-segment arterial occlusive disease, achieving excellent results. It was also the first in the country to conduct interventional treatment for diabetic foot vascular lesions, gaining innovative experience and achievements. In the research on angiogenesis in lower limb ischemia and the etiology of aortic aneurysms, it received the China Science and Technology Award in 2011 and 2013, respectively. The department is at the forefront of carotid artery stenosis treatment in the country, with its research on 'Safety Warning and Optimization Strategies for Carotid Endarterectomy in the Elderly' winning the Excellent Project Award from the Central Health Care. The department also has rich clinical experience in the surgical and interventional treatment of subclavian artery stenosis and vertebral artery stenosis. In 2016, the Venous Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center was established, leading the country in minimally invasive radiofrequency treatment for varicose veins, surgical treatment of venous thromboembolic diseases, and chronic venous insufficiency. Leveraging the comprehensive advantages of various departments at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the vascular surgery department enjoys a prestigious reputation for its diagnosis and treatment of various complex diseases. The popular science book 'Vascular Defense' written by the department has received widespread acclaim from patients and won the 2014 China Medical Popular Science Award.

Currently, the Department of Vascular Surgery is one of the centers in China with the best hardware facilities. After the completion of the new surgical building at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in 2013, it is equipped with modern surgical wards and supporting facilities, a brand-new hybrid operating room for vascular surgery, which has advantages such as full-body coverage, low radiation exposure, clear imaging, and numerous post-processing software, capable of performing all types of vascular surgeries and endovascular interventions, laying a solid foundation for 'treating diseases and overcoming difficulties.' Multiple intraoperative vascular ultrasound devices and radiofrequency equipment can perform various minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation treatments for varicose veins, significantly reducing patient surgical pain and improving the medical experience and satisfaction, receiving high praise from patients. The non-invasive examination room's color Doppler ultrasound, arterial segment pressure measurement, laser Doppler, and transcutaneous oxygen measurement greatly assist clinical work and enhance patient convenience. The minimally invasive treatment for varicose veins further aligns with national medical reforms and establishes a foundation for day surgery. The platform, leading equipment, and exquisite medical technology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital significantly enhance the social influence and service level of the vascular surgery department, ensuring the smooth conduct of routine diagnostic and therapeutic work and providing a solid foundation for patient safety.

Department management is key to the development of the discipline and ensures medical safety. The Vascular Surgery Center places a high emphasis on standardized management, medical quality control, talent cultivation, and the construction of a disciplinary team, establishing and improving various rules and regulations and management standards, completing the construction of the ISO9000 system, making the discipline's development more standardized, institutionalized, and standardized. It highly values medical ethics and professional conduct, strengthens service awareness, opens up innovative ideas, emphasizes doctor-patient communication and patient education, and has established humanized services such as vascular disease publicity boards, admission and discharge processes, and online appointment scheduling for convenient medical access.

The vascular surgery department strengthens academic research spirit and medical service awareness, continuously establishing and improving regulations, including a complete medical safety system and technical access system, innovatively setting up management processes for doctor-patient communication systems, scientific education systems for surgical consent, and humanized design processes, standardization and electronic management processes for medical records, doctor contact card systems, patient follow-up registration systems, database management systems, research development planning and management systems, clinical teaching and continuing education systems, etc. With the support of hospital leadership, the vascular surgery department was the first in the hospital to establish and implement a surgical risk assessment and safety management system, continuously improving and refining it, which has been promoted across all surgical departments; with the approval of hospital leadership, a 'Vascular Surgery Surgical Accident Insurance' system was established in collaboration with China People's Insurance Company. The hospital's new modern information management system is also an important guarantee for the department's continuous development.

As a leading discipline in the country, the vascular surgery department places great importance on research and development, receiving multiple research funding projects including the National Natural Science Foundation, Beijing Natural Science Foundation, and Initial Funding. It participates in various global multicenter clinical studies and leads or participates in international multicenter clinical drug trials and numerous domestic clinical drug trials, while continuously introducing advanced foreign technologies and maintaining friendly exchanges with vascular surgery centers and renowned experts from multiple countries and regions. The department regularly hosts national-level vascular surgery academic conferences and continuing medical education programs, playing an active role in promoting discipline development, talent cultivation, and continuing medical education.

In terms of education, as a national and Beijing continuing education base, the department has conducted various continuing education projects for many years, training a large number of vascular surgery professionals for local grassroots hospitals in China. All physicians in the department undertake clinical teaching tasks at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, with 3 doctoral supervisors and 1 master's supervisor, having trained over 40 doctoral and master's graduates. The department also undertakes clinical teaching and research training tasks for the eight-year clinical doctoral program and clinical postdoctoral program at Peking Union Medical College. Additionally, as a training specialty for the Beijing surgical residency training base, it also undertakes a large number of training tasks for surgical residents.

With the spirit of 'rigor, precision, diligence, and dedication,' the Department of Vascular Surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital continuously explores, develops, and improves in the medical field, with the sacred mission of 'serving patients and safeguarding human health' being the commitment of every medical staff member in the department.