The Department of General Surgery of Zhongshan Hospital was founded in 1946 by renowned professor of surgery Shen Kefei. General Surgery is now a Key Constructive Discipline of Project 211, a National Key Subject of the Ministry of Education as well as a National Key Subject of Health and Family Planning Committee. After over 60 years of development and generations of dedication, the department enjoys a national reputation with its advanced technology, rigorous work style and selfless work ethics. Many world-famous surgeons have worked here, including Cui Zhiyi, Feng Youxian, Wu Zhaoguang, Meng Chengwei, Wang Chengbei, Wu Zhaohan and Qin Xinyu. The department has 198 beds. It handles 130,000 outpatient visits, 12,000 emergency room visits and performs 8,000 medium or major surgeries yearly. The overall level of the department’s medical treatment, teaching and research has been in the national forefront. The department is, in particular, characterized by its research in the field of clinical nutrition, gastrointestinal surgery, biliary surgery, pancreatic surgery and gastroenteric motility, among which studies on gastrointestinal cancer and minimally invasive surgeries have reached the international advanced level.

Currently, with the development of subspecialties as its focus, multidisciplinary treatment, endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery as important platforms, the department is gradually growing into a diagnostic and treatment center for intractable and critical illnesses in the field of general surgery nationwide and a teaching and training ground for standardized diagnosis and treatment.The department’s academic team is highly qualified and appropriately structured, with more than 10 members taking core academic positions in professional organizations such as Chinese Medical Association. In the future, the Department of General Surgery will continue to uphold the spirit of Zhongshan Hospital, put patients first, work diligently to accumulate knowledge and experience in order to become Asia’s leading center for diagnosis, treatment, education and clinical research of general surgery diseases.

In 1997, the Department of General Surgery was listed as a planned key discipline of “Project 211”. In 2001, it was identified as a key discipline of State Education Committee. In 2002 and 2008, it was listed as key constructive discipline of the second period and third period of “Project 211”. In 2012, it was rated as National Key Clinical Specialty and a subject of the Shanghai "Essential” Clinical Medicine Key Disciplines. In addition, the department has established Shanghai Research Institute of General Surgery, Shanghai Clinical Nutrition Research Center and Shanghai General Surgery Quality Control Center. It has ranked the second for successive years on the list of best specialties in Chinese hospitals.