Founded in 2004, the Spine Surgery of the Second Hospital of Shandong University has become a specialty with unique features and distinct academic style based on the concept of individualized precision medical treatment and in a minimally invasive manner, The Department offers therapies for patients with cervicothoracic and lumbar degenerative diseases, spinal fracture, spine malformation, spinal tumors and infectious diseases, and enjoys relatively high reputation at home and abroad. The Department was granted with the rights to award the master’s degree in 2008 and the doctoral degree in 2012 respectively, and is the 1st Spine Surgery Doctoral Base in Shandong Province. It was identified as MOH Clinical Pharmacology Base in 2005 and the Key Discipline of Shandong Province in 2010. Furthermore, it founded the Shandong University Spine Surgery Research Center in 2016, the Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord in Universities of Shandong Province during the “13th Five-year Plan” in April 2017 under the approval of the Shandong Provincial Education Department , and the 1st National Center for Robotics Applications in Shandong Province in 2017.
The Spine Surgery has divisions including outpatient, ward, ICU, etc., and 52 beds available now. It receives 30,000 person-times for outpatient consultation, and treats 1,000 to 1,500 patients every year. The Department has generated extensive social influence and received good social benefits.
Medical Members
The Department currently has 16 members devoted to medicine, teaching and research, including 1 doctoral supervisor and 3 master supervisors, and is the 1st professional doctoral base of spine surgery in the Province, which has cultivated 18 doctors and 13 masters. It is attended by 3 chief physicians, 4 associate chief physicians, 4 attending doctors and 4 resident doctors. Members at middle and young age below 45 years old account for 78.57%, and 70% of the members in the Department hold a doctoral degree.
Clinical Medicine
In the Province, the Department is the first performer of minimally invasive microendoscopic discectomy in 2000, the minimally invasive transforaminal endoscopic surgery in 2016, microscopic cervical and lumbar decompression in 2017, and robot-assisted orthopedics surgery in 2018. It is always the leader of precision minimally invasive surgery and spine renovation in the Province. The Department combines the traditional base of spine fusion surgery with the precision minimally invasive concept to treat patients with vertebral degeneration, scoliosis, tumor of spine, spinal infection, etc., and takes the lead to practice surgical methods of MIS-TLIF, MIDLF, OLIF and microscopic fusion. In terms of spinal fracture, the Department has applied percutaneous fracture reduction and internal fixation, PKP and other minimally invasive techniques to treat patients with cervico-thoraco-lumbar fractures from different age groups. In addition, advanced techniques including surgical robot of orthopedics, intraoperative ultrasound, intraoperative spinal monitoring and piezosurgery ensure and improve surgical safety, and truly realize the minimal invasion of open surgeries, normalization of high-risk surgeries and precision of conventional surgeries.
Scientific Research Level
The Spine Surgery has undertaken nearly 11 research subjects of the state, the province, the ministries and the commissions (including 1 national key research and development project) with total research grant of RMB 2 million Yuan. It has published over 50 papers on domestic and foreign journals, including 23 accepted by SCI with total IF over 40, and edited or co-edited 25 books. The Department set up the Shandong University Spine Surgery Research Center in 2016, and Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord of the Second Hospital of Shandong University, one of key laboratories in Universities of Shandong Province during the “13th Five-year Plan” in 2017,, laying a foundation for the construction of a high-level scientific research platform.
The academic leader Prof. Gao Chunzheng is a M.D., chief physician, professor and doctoral supervisor of Shandong University, and now serves as the director of the Spine Surgery Research Center of Shandong University, the director of the Spine Surgery of the Second Hospital of Shandong University, the member of the Academic Committee of the Second Hospital of Shandong University, and the person in charge of the Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord of Colleges and Universities in Shandong Province for the “13th Five-year Plan”. The professor also hold concurrent posts in other organizations as the core member of International Bethune Medical Development Association, the director of Spine Special Committee, the vice director of the Technical Guidance Center of National Orthopedic Surgical Robot Application Center, the standing committee member of the Special Committee of Spinal Trauma and Repair of China International Exchange and Promotion Association for Medical and Healthcare, the director of the Sub-special Committee of Spinal Trauma of Emergency Trauma Doctor Branch of Shandong Medical Doctor Association, the vice director of the Orthopedics Branch of Shandong Provincial Medical Association, the Cervical Functional Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Group of China Association of Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons, Shandong Provincial Alliance of Enhanced Recovery after Orthopedic Surgery, Emergency Trauma Doctor Branch of Shandong Medical Doctor Association, Special Committee of Spine of Shandong Medical Doctor Association, the 1stCommittee of Medical Robot Branch of Shandong Provincial Medical Association, the Special Committee of Spinal Joints of Shandong Society of Geriatrics, the Special Committee of Spinal and Cord Injury of Shandong Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, the member of the 8th, 9th, and 10thOrthopedics Branch Committee of Shandong Provincial Medical Association, the Special Committee of Orthopedics of Chinese Medical Doctor Association Shandong Branch, the Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Surgery Group of Shandong Provincial Medical Association, the Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Diseases Branch of Shandong Provincial Medical Association, and the Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Consultation and Evaluation Expert Group of the Department of Science & Technology of Shandong Province, the evaluation expert of the National Natural Science Fund, National Science and Technology Rewards and National MOE Science and Technology, and the editorial board member of Orthopedic Journal of China. The professor is mainly devoted to spinal cord injury, spinal deformity, spinal degenerative disease, minimally invasive treatment of complex fractures, cervical spondylosis, thoracic and lumbar disc herniation, spinal stenosis, osteogenesis of posterior longitudinal ligament and ligamentum flavum of cervical and thoracic vertebrae, Lumbar spondylolisthesis, hip and knee arthroplasty, etc. The Professor undertook 3 provincial scientific research subjects and 1 national scientific research subject (national key R&D program) in the past 5 years with total research grant exceeding RMB 3 million Yuan. More than 40 academic papers have been published, of which, over 20 were included by SCI with total IF greater than 30.
Academic Exchange and Cooperation
The Spine Surgery has dispatched 10 experts to Canada, USA, Japan and Korea for advanced studies in succession, and attended and made speeches on many world-class, international and domestic academic conferences. A number of experts were invited from Korea, Canada, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan for academic exchange, through which, good cooperative relationship is established and academic development is promoted. 。