Focus on Department of Cardiology & Department of Cardiac Surgery

Founded in 1844, Renji Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, is the earliest Western-style general hospital established after the opening of Shanghai. As a time-honored Grade A tertiary public hospital in China, it runs five campuses (East, West, South, Baoshan and Hangzhouwan) and integrates clinical treatment, medical education, research transformation and critical emergency care. Ranking among the top domestic hospitals nationwide, it boasts 13 National Key Clinical Specialties, among which cardiology and cardiac surgery are flagship disciplines and one of the birthplaces of modern cardiovascular treatment in China.

I. Department of Cardiology

Founded by prestigious Chinese internist Prof. Huang Mingxin, the Department of Cardiology is a National Key Clinical Specialty and a Key Discipline under Project 211 of the Ministry of Education. It is among China’s first departments authorized to confer master’s and doctoral degrees in cardiovascular medicine and accredited by the American College of Cardiology for continuing medical education. It has obtained four national-level certifications for Chest Pain Center, Atrial Fibrillation Center, Heart Failure Center and Cardiac Rehabilitation Center.

The department consists of seven subspecialties: coronary artery disease, arrhythmia & electrophysiology, heart failure, pulmonary vascular disease, structural heart disease and hypertension. All five campuses operate under unified management, with an annual outpatient volume of over 250,000 visits and more than 11,000 interventional procedures per year, keeping its clinical capacity and technical prowess at the national top tier.

Core Clinical Strengths

1. Complex High-risk Coronary Intervention: As an early pioneer of coronary interventional therapy in China, the department excels in high-difficulty PCI for left main coronary lesions, chronic total occlusion (CTO), severely calcified lesions and diseased graft vessels after bypass surgery. A 24-hour emergency green channel for acute myocardial infarction ensures top-tier survival rates matching international benchmarks, with its annual volume of complex coronary procedures ranking high nationwide.
2. Minimally Invasive Ablation for Arrhythmia: One of China’s cradles of cardiac pacing technology, the department independently developed domestic pacemakers and put them into clinical use back in the 1970s. It routinely performs one-stop atrial fibrillation ablation combined with left atrial appendage occlusion under three-dimensional mapping, zero-fluoroscopy ICE-guided ablation, Marshall vein ethanol ablation and epicardial ablation for malignant ventricular tachycardia. Implantation of ICD, CRT and leadless pacemakers totals over 10,000 cases cumulatively.
3. Interventional Therapy for Structural Heart Disease, Heart Failure & Pulmonary Hypertension: Mature techniques include transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), minimally invasive closure of congenital heart defects and transcatheter mitral valve repair. The department is authoritative in standardized management of refractory heart failure and diagnosis of complicated pulmonary hypertension, leading multiple nationwide clinical researches on heart failure and pulmonary vascular disorders.
4. Robust Research Platform: Supported by Shanghai Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Diseases and a large-scale population-based chronic disease cohort biobank, the department recruits distinguished national-level scholars, and many of its clinical findings have been incorporated into global cardiovascular treatment guidelines.

II. Department of Cardiac Surgery

Established by pioneering Chinese cardiac surgeons including Prof. Lan Xichun, Prof. Wang Yishan and Prof. Liang Qichen, the department made history by completing China’s first closed mitral commissurotomy in 1954, marking the origin of modern cardiac surgery in China. It is also among China’s earliest training bases for master’s and doctoral candidates in cardiac surgery. Led by discipline leader Prof. Xue Song, it stands as a top-tier cardiovascular and great vessel surgery center in East China with consistent high rankings in national discipline evaluation, capable of full-spectrum open, minimally invasive and hybrid cardiac surgeries.

Core Clinical Strengths

1. Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Regional Benchmark in East China): A front-runner in off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) nationwide, it specializes in total arterial revascularization, mini-incision minimally invasive bypass and repeat bypass for restenosis after stent implantation. It has rich experience in bypass for critically ill elderly patients over 90 years old with a surgical success rate exceeding 99%, alongside a 24-hour emergency bypass green channel.
2. High-complexity Great Vessel Surgery: Expertise covers challenging operations such as total arch replacement for Type A aortic dissection, David aortic root plasty, Bentall procedure and thoracoabdominal aortic replacement. It delivers outstanding treatment for rare severe conditions including Marfan syndrome-related aortic aneurysm and giant pulmonary artery aneurysm, leading domestic emergency management of acute great vessel disorders.
3. One-stop Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery & TAVR: Fully-fledged in transfemoral/transapical TAVR, MitraClip mitral valve repair and thoracoscopic valve repair or replacement, enabling minimally invasive treatment for elderly patients unfit for conventional open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. A hybrid operating room jointly built by cardiology and cardiac surgery realizes one-stop combined interventional and surgical treatment.
4. Congenital Heart Disease Surgery: Provides radical repair for complex congenital heart defects in infants and children plus corrective surgery for adult congenital heart malformations, covering minimally invasive management for all age groups with combined cardiovascular deformities.

III. Integrated Collaboration Feature

Renji Hospital adopts an integrated MDT collaborative model for cardiology and cardiac surgery. Supported by hybrid operating rooms, customized one-stop treatment plans combining interventional minimally invasive therapy and open surgery are formulated for coronary, valvular and great vessel diseases, forming a full-chain treatment system from medication and intervention to open surgery. It serves as a preferred referral center for complicated cardiovascular disorders across the Yangtze River Delta.