Embracing Top3 places, How Do the “Hard Core” Gynecological Technologies Refine in CWCCH?
An international gynecological video surgery competition held by an English Journal, Gynecology and Pelvic Medicine, and judged by its international editorial board members, has released the results through fierce competition more than four months. Surgery videos sent by the Gynecology Dept., Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital（CWCCH）have won the first, second and third prizes, embracing Top3 places in this international competition.
This communication with international colleagues is a precious opportunity, an inspection, and also an international recognition to the gynecological technologies of CWCCH, so as to be the driving force of high-quality development of this hospital. How do the “hard core” gynecological technologies refine? Let’s get a close eye at the Gynecology Dept. of the hospital and see their efforts committed to the technological refinement in the past decades.
Targeting to the cutting-edge technologies, all for women’s health
Talking to the outstanding results of this competition, Dr. He Li, director of Ward I, Gynecology Dept., is more satisfied than joyful: “These young backbone physicians have made great progress, which reflects the outcome of our training and urge and matters a lot to the specialty development. This competition also stimulates their potentialities as well as their confidence in scientific research and technologies.
According to the official information, this competition has invited 12 international editorial board members from China, USA, Russia, Italy, UK, Turkey and Hungary. Through blind selection from five aspects in the following: the difficulty of surgery, the standability and fluency of surgery, the originality of surgery video, the quality of the video and the educational value of surgery video demonstration, the judges scored the competition surgery video and then got the final remarks. Among them, Dr. Gu Dingqian, a gynecologic associate physician from CWCCH, finished a video surgery of v-NOTES (transvaginal laparoscopic extraperitoneal hysterosacral fixation), winning the first prize with an Italian competitor as champion. The other three young doctors, Feng Dan, Wei Yan and Li Yan, won the second prized of all the top 2 places, and another young doctor, Xie Cong won the third prize.
Why it is the v-NOTES (vaginal Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) that stands out from numerous of surgery methods? According to Gu Dingqian, compared with the traditional laparoscopic surgery which punctures 3-4 0.5～1cm holes in operation with more risks of puncture injury and bleeding, the gynecologic surgery develops from natural orifice transumbilical surgery (NOTUS) which is less invasive and more beautiful, hiding the surgical incision in the navel, to natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery(NOTES) which achieves the cutting-edge technology with nearly no invasion to operate modern endoscopic diagnosis and treatments via human natural orifice with the technology development and equipment updates.
Since 2018, Prof. Lin Yonghong, chief leader of CWCCH and a gynecologist, has followed the international frontier technology, targeting the cutting-edge V-NOTES technology as the goal, and led his team operated the first case of transvaginal single port laparoscopic surgery, exploring a new route for the gynecologic technology for the hospital.
Thereafter, the hospital has strived to develop the v-NOTES technologies and innovated numbers of surgery methods. Up to now, the Gynecology Dept. has independently operated the radical resection of early endometrial cancer and early ovarian cancer, completed the pelvic lymph nodes, abdominal aortic lymph node excision, omentum and appendectomy with fluorescent tracer and performed several pelvic floor reconstruction surgeries by v-NOTES, such as intraperitoneal and extraperitoneal sacral fixation, sacrospinous ligament suspension etc. And successfully operated the first uterine posterior wall myomectomy in the prone position. In the theme of v-NOTES technology, the hospital has carried out all rounds scientific researches including project application, publishing more than 10 SCI papers and implementing several national patens.According to professional data statistics, the total number of v-NOTES surgeries has reached more than 3000, even leading the field in the world.
“Under the leadership of Prof. Lin Yonghong, the Gynecologic Dept. has covered more than 200 surgery methods of all kinds.” The technologic progress brings will-being to the people, and all the efforts they made is for women living a more beautiful even perfect life than healthy. “In clinics we’ve met a lot of women who don’t want to leave scar in the surgery. We understand that the desire to look attractive is universal, especially recognized by females, and are willing to explore and make great efforts.
Along the guidance of pacemaker, the department forms an atmosphere of “Diligence leads to knowledge and depth”.
When enter the hall of medicine school, many of the aspirants have prepared to be life-long learners in pursuit of excellence. Once get the physician certificates, they set higher standards for themselves while the clinical technology develops and updates every five years, which is the driving force for the Gynecology Dept. to get into the fast track.
Early in 2016, with the surgery video “Abdominal aorta and presacral lymph node dissection” after several rounds of strict selection, Prof. Lin Yonghong, as the academic leader, led his team in Gynecology Dept. to win the first prize of “the 2nd Cross-Strait V-LOC Cup Gynecologic Laparoscopy Surgery Competition for Young and Middle-aged Physicians”, symbolling the gynecologic technology reaching top level in China.
Dr. He Li, Director of Ward 1, Gynecology Dept., says,” The self- requirements of painstaking scientific research and pursuit for excellence forms an atmosphere of “Diligence leads to knowledge and depth” in the department.Besides going to the clinics and making the rounds in the ward, Dr. Gu Dingqian appears more frequently in the small conference room where the endoscopic simulation trainer located. "Ten minutes on stage, ten years off stage", which is the same with the operation stage. So as to refine her skill, Gu takes quite a lot of time on self-improvement and practices. “For us, we aim not only to cure the disease, but also consider the comfortability, minimal injury and scarless incision, requiring higher medical technology, diligent learning and hard training. “
Dr. Zhang Qiang, a backbone in the Gynecology Dept., reminds that Prof. Lin Yonghong shared his experiences in the department, of doing surgery in mind while sitting at home. “Every day he comes home from work, he will replay today’s surgeries and go through tomorrow’s surgeries in mind, such as where are the blood vessel, where are the neuros, and what kind of methods to take, just as playing movies, to ensure a well-thought-out surgery plan is in mind when you stand in front of the operation table.”
Inspired by Prof. Lin Yonghong, Dr. Zhang Qiang plays his strengths of free sketching, by drawing the organ tissues before the surgery, locating the lesions and categorizing the influences between different levels, and predicts the possible problems during operation. After the surgery, Dr. Zhang Qiang draws the shape and structure of the excised lesion to deeply impress himself the case. Such careful sketching, on the one hand, helps him to consolidate the theoretic foundation, on the other hand, to summarize the clinical practices and also motivate other colleagues to serve for more patients. Compared with the green-handed young man when firstly worked as a doctor, Zhang Qiang has become a backbone physician in the department.
Applying competition as a useful means, motivate all members to look for improving path.
How to test learning effectiveness in such an active atmosphere? Dr. He Li says, under the guidance of Prof. Lin Yonghong, the disciplinary academic leader, the Gynecology Dept. has natural development advantages, “We hope the young people to take the advantages of hospital brand, and utilize higher platform and broaden international perspectives to unceasingly break through the disciplinary ceilings with resolution.” It is the requirement both for her team and herself.
In Dr. He’s opinion, competition is an effective way to inspect the technology, build up confidence and gain the industrial recognition. “Since having participated the competition, I find that competition works as the role to know whether our technology is good or not in the industry. When we look at the peer operation procedures to learn from them about the cases of surgery as well as public speaking skills.” Besides the medical works in the hospital, the Gynecology Dept. applies competition as a useful means, encourages all to take part in the competition in turn and also sets up quiz to motivate its members“Doing one’s best in every competition asks us to improve our public speaking and communication skills, and even how to record, shoot and edit the competition surgery videos, thus we have to refine, demonstrate and show our ‘hard core’ technologies. Our young and middle-aged backbone physicians are required to develop comprehensively, skilled in both writing academic papers and competing in the surgery competition. “Dr. He Li adds.
Stand together for the departmental development, to be the most trustworthy in the minds of gynecologic patients
With the urban devolvement and master planning, the city has integrated its medical resources. In 2011, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital moved to its new site where all arounds were not as populated as nowadays in Riyue Ave., Qingyang District. Dr. He worried that would the patients go such hospital far away from downtown? The facts turn out her worries are not necessary: noting compares with the patients’ trust.
After the development more than ten years, the hospital spreads its influences with its technology and professionality in the city and province, and even in the whole Southwest China and further in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Since the foundation of Maternal and Child Alliance established by CWCCH, the Gynecology Dept. also dispatches experts to provide technical guidance, advanced knowledges, new concepts in diagnosis and treatment, distant medical consultation and referrals from the grassroot institutions.
Beibei, a five-year-old girl coming to the clinic with breast dysplasia, was diagnosed of ovarian cancer and saved in time; Qiqi, a fifteenth-year-old girl who nearly lost her life because of menarche bleeding, was cured by the joint efforts of Gynecology Dept. and Blood Transfusion Dept.; Mrs. Wang, a sixty-five-year-old lady, came into a better life beyond expectation after the treatment of advanced fallopian tube cancer in the hospital… CWCCH always shoulders the responsibility of safeguarding women’s life-long health and bringing well-beings for females with hard-core technologies.
“From the hospital aspect, each discipline improves steadily, and it is the same of the Gynecology Dept. In the recent years, we’ve been completed equipped with hardware, fully supported by other departments, such as Anesthesia Dept., Operation Room, Clinical Laboratory, Ultrasound Imaging Dept and Pathology Dept. etc., and the comprehensive power of Gynecology Dept. has taken the lead within China. However, there’s still a long way to go. “ Dr. He Li says, “as the flagship of maternal and children’s healthcare and medical services in the Greater Chengdu Region，CWCCH is also in charge of the public administration function to provide professional guidance for all the maternal and children healthcare institutions in the whole city. It is far from enough for us to do the works well ourselves, but also, we have to summarize the cases of common and frequently-occurred diseases into a series of Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) to reach higher standard management and quality control by standardization to all the institutions. Up to now, we’ve set up SOPs of more than 20 advanced technologies and we’ll continue to help the physicians to realize more standard and more beautiful surgeries.
Results of the Third International Elite Gynecologic Surgery Competition (2022 Masters of Gynecologic Surgery)
