Nanjing Drum Tower hospital is the one of the earliest western hospitals in China. Over the century, we have achieved rapid development in all aspects of medical education, research and management. It has now developed into a large-scale research comprehensive tertiary hospital with complete disciplines, strong faculty, superb medical technology, and strong scientific research capabilities. Currently, there are 3500 patient beds and over 6,000 employees, including 900 professors and associate professors, 395 master’s and doctoral supervisors.
Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), submucosal dissection (ESD), POEM Technology and EFR, STER and other technologies are used in endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of early gastrointestinal tumors and precancerous lesions, achalasia, gastroesophageal reflux disease endoscopic treatment. Each year, there are more than 1,000 cases of early gastrointestinal cancer and submucosal tumors in our endoscopic center. It has become the largest treatment center in Jiangsu Province, and it is in a leading position in the country.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and related operation techniques involve the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases of biliary tract and pancreas including bile duct stones, diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant stenosis of the bile duct, diagnosis and treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer and benign diseases of the pancreas, etc. More than 1,600 patients are treated each year. The technical difficulty is high. Most patients are referred from local hospitals. They are older and have more comorbidities. Most of the ERCPs in the local hospitals are unsuccessful. Finally, they are effectively treated in the Gastroenterology Department of Gulou Hospital. The method of hilar cholangiocarcinoma air imaging combined with bile drainage and reinfusion has improved liver function in many patients, which let them obtain the opportunity for surgical radical resection and improved the patient's prognosis.
Ultrasound endoscopic fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) and pancreatic pseudocyst drainage. More than 1,400 cases of linear ultrasound diagnosis are carried out every year, including more than 300 cases of EUS-FNA. In recent years, it has actively carried out new technologies, such as EUS-guided biliary drainage, EUS-guided gallbladder drainage and gallstone preservation, and EUS-guided pancreatic duct drainage. Carrying out EUS-guided gastrointestinal anastomosis provides patients with malignant gastric outflow stenosis with minimally invasive endoscopic treatment, improves the nutritional status of these patients, and prolongs their survival. Currently, 25 patients with malignant gastric outflow tract obstruction were treated by EUS-GE. These technologies are in a leading position in the world.
The precise treatment of portal hypertension based on the measurement of portal pressure gradient is another feature of interventional therapy in the Department of Gastroenterology of Gulou Hospital. Our purpose is to achieve individualized treatment of portal hypertension. Sclerotherapy (EVS), ligation (EVL), transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and/or non-selective β-blocker drug therapy are selected according to the patient's condition. These strategies can minimize portal pressure, reduce the risk of fatal gastrointestinal bleeding, reduce stubborn ascites, and protect liver function as much as possible. We also organized and put up an expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of pyrrole alkaloids induced hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome (2016). Establishing a method of transjugular liver biopsy has brought a diagnosis opportunity for patients with complex liver diseases who cannot undergo percutaneous liver puncture.