Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery
Established in October 2022, the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery at Zhongshan Hospital, affiliated to Fudan University, is a consolidation of the Thyroid and Breast Specialized Teams from the General Surgery Department. The chief of the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery is Professor Ai Zhilong.
The Thyroid Surgery Team performs over 2000 thyroid cancer surgeries annually, among which more than 300 were extended radical rections for thyroid cancer. According to data from the Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, Zhongshan Hospital has the shortest average hospital stay for thyroid cancer surgery among all hospitals in Shanghai. In the treatment of benign thyroid diseases, the team is featured by trans-cervical resection of large thyroid goiters and retrosternal thyroidectomy, sparing many patients from thoracotomy. Collaborating with the Nephrology Department, the team provide total parathyroidectomy with self-transplantation for patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism due to chronic renal failure on dialysis. In conjunction with the department of Interventional Ultrasound, the team has also introduced minimally invasive procedures such as radiofrequency ablation for thyroid tumors, offering more clinical options for patients with thyroid diseases. Furthermore, we have widely adopted endoscopic thyroid surgery to meet the cosmetic needs of patients, with benefits of which covering zero neck scars, excellent nerve exposure and protection, and improved postoperative quality of life.
The Breast Surgery Team, established in the 1990s under the leadership of Professor Chen Junxue, was one of the pioneers in China to perform breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer, skin-sparing mastectomy, nipple-areolar-sparing mastectomy, and sentinel lymph node biopsy. In 1999, Professor Chen Junxue collaborated with Professor Qi Fazhi from the Plastic Surgery Department to be the first in China to perform modified radical mastectomy combined with immediate autologous flap breast reconstruction, achieving excellent clinical satisfaction. Currently, the team performs over 700 breast cancer surgeries annually, with a breast-conserving surgery rate of 50%, which is the leading domestic level. The Breast Surgery Team has successively introduced breast-conserving plastic surgery, non-lipolysis endoscopic sentinel lymph node biopsy, non-lipolysis endoscopic axillary lymph node dissection, and endoscopic mastectomy combined with immediate breast reconstruction, providing standardized and diversified options for breast cancer patients. Among the breast cancer patients treated surgically at Zhongshan Hospital each year, approximately 25% are over 70 years old, and 7% are over 80 years old. Many of these patients have commodities such as diabetes, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular disease, and liver or kidney dysfunction. The successful treatment of these elderly and complex cases is attributed to the comprehensive strength of multiple disciplines at Zhongshan Hospital, including anesthesiology, cardiology, respiratory medicine, endocrinology, et al. The "Fudan University-affiliated Zhongshan Hospital Breast Cancer Multidisciplinary Team," established in December, 2009, is one of the earliest MDT teams at Zhongshan Hospital. It is a collaborative effort between the Breast Surgery team and departments of Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology, Radiology, Plastic Surgery, Ultrasound, Cardiology, Nuclear Medicine, Psychological Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. This MDT team has established a standardized process to diagnose and treat breast cancer patients, providing personalized and comprehensive care and services.
