Overview
The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery has a long history and outstanding status quo. Since 1953, we were the first to perform open-heart surgery nationwide. In the 1980s, our ablation surgery under direct vision was well-known throughout the country. In 2001, Dr. Dongjin Wang became the Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. Since then, the center has grown rapidly and now performs more than 4,000 surgeries (including over 2500 cardiac operations and 1500 thoracic operations) per year. Now we have 4 wards with 214 beds, 40 doctors and over 150 nurses. We can perform all kinds of surgery for cardiothoracic diseases.
Conditions treated
1． Aortic disease
We perform more than 600 cases of aortic disease every year, including about 300 cases of Stanford type A aortic dissection, 200 cases of endovascular repair for type B aortic dissection and thoracic and abdominal aneurysms, and 100 cases of open repair for ascending / thoracic aortic aneurysm. The department is the regional center for aortic disease of Jiangsu Province with official certificate, covering over 70,000,000 persons. The regional Referral Center, which is called “6-hour life cycle”, has been established with more than 50 primary medical units in Jiangsu and Anhui Province. The aim of “6-hour life cycle” is to transfer acute aortic disease patients from local area to our department and perform best treatments within 6 hours. In addition, our special techniques invented, improved and applicated for artic disease had been applied widely and reported in the professional journal. With the aid of referral and treatment methods, the number of patients with aortic disease has increased rapidly and the postoperative mortality and morbidity rates have decreased significantly. Now our center has become the largest and most well-known academic center for aorta in China, which is widely recognized by peers.
2． Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
20% of cardiac surgeries are preformed each year through minimally invasive incisions, including right vertical infra-axillary thoracotomy (RVIAT), upper thoracotomy, right anterior lateral incision, right parasternal incision and thoracoscopy assisted / Da Vinci system assisted procedure. RVIAT was invented by Dr. Dong jin Wang in the early 2000s, which was also named after him as“Wang’s incision”. RVIAT is a better incision choice for young female patients, infants, and young children. We can perform congenital heart disease, such as ventricle septal defect and atrial septal defect and mitral valve operations and aortic valve cases through this incision. According to the latest retrospective review for patients with RVIAT, the clinical results are excellent.
3． End Stage Heart Failure
We have performed lots of normal valve replacement surgeries for end-stage heart disease patients, the follow-up results have indicated that it is a good option for end-stage heart disease patients before receiving a heart transplantation. In addition, we have tried to treat patients with ischemic myocardiopathy with injecting stem cells combined coronary artery bypass surgery, and have completed two clinical trials with good results.
4． Minimally Invasive Surgery for Small Pulmonary Nodules
Minimally invasive surgery with thoracoscopy’s assistance has been applied for patients with small pulmonary nodules, and patients who undergo such surgery can recover within 3 days through a rapid recovery pathway.
Leadership
Dr. Dongjin Wang is a well-known professor of cardiovascular surgery and was awarded the Best Cardiac Surgeon in China (Gold Knife Award) in 2008. He is proficient in minimally invasive heart surgery, aortic surgery, and end-stage cardiovascular surgery. The cardiovascular surgery team has 5 professors and 6 attending physicians. The general thoracic surgery team has 5 professors and 2 attending physicians.
Research & achievement
We also engage in circulation research and lung cancer research. The main fields are aortic dissection, heart failure, and atherosclerosis, which are all outstanding. We have screened serological indicators that predict aortic disease and can be used to screen high-risk groups for aortic disease among normal healthy people. This assay will be applied in the clinic. We have also developed tests that improve the diagnosis rate of acute aortic disease, which will greatly improve the diagnosis rate and reduce the misdiagnosis rate. Meanwhile, we also have great achievements in the development of artificial stent products for the treatment of aortic diseases.
Education & Training
We are also the teaching hospital and master’s / doctoral student granting site for Nanjing University, Nanjing Medical University, Southeast University, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, China Pharmaceutical University and Beijing Union Medical College. We are also very happy to accept doctors from all over the country and the world for advanced training. We have a long-term cooperative relationship with Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University, with close ties in clinical work and research.