Brief Introduction of Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Founded in 1957 by three academician-level pioneers of Chinese cardiothoracic surgery – Huang Jiasi, Lan Xichun and Gu Kaishi, Shanghai Chest Hospital is China’s first Grade A tertiary specialized hospital dedicated to cardiothoracic disorders. Approved as a national training base for cardiothoracic surgeons by the former Ministry of Health in the same year, it is reputed as the cradle of domestic cardiothoracic professionals. It was named Shanghai Red Cross Chest Hospital in 2004 and formally affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in 2022.

With authorized 580 inpatient beds and over 1,000 practically open beds, the hospital registers more than 860,000 annual outpatient visits and over 28,000 annual surgeries, among which complicated Grade III & IV critical operations account for over 90%. Both the Department of Cardiology and Department of Cardiac and Great Vessel Surgery are certified as National Key Clinical Specialties and National Key Disciplines. The hospital houses China’s first internationally accredited Chest Pain Center and is among the first batch of national-level Atrial Fibrillation Centers and Heart Failure Centers. Through an integrated cardiology-cardiac surgery Heart Center system, it serves as a core referral hub for complicated and severe cardiovascular diseases across Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta.

I. Department of Cardiology

Founded alongside the hospital in 1957, the department is one of Shanghai’s earliest formal cardiovascular specialties and a national comprehensive training base for full-spectrum cardiac interventional therapies. It consists of five standardized subspecialties: coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation & arrhythmia, structural heart disease, cardiac pacing & electrophysiology, and critical heart failure. Equipped with nearly 200 inpatient beds, a specialized CCU ward, six internationally standardized DSA catheter labs, hybrid operating rooms and a cardiovascular translational medicine lab covering over 1,000 square meters, more than 80% of its physicians hold doctoral degrees, with abundant doctoral supervisors and top-tier academic leaders on staff.

Core Clinical Advantages

1. Leading Expertise in AF Management and Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: Its annual volume of atrial fibrillation ablation consistently ranks among the top across the Asia-Pacific region. Led by Professor He Ben, the department pioneered left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in China, drafted the Chinese Expert Consensus on Prevention of AF-related Stroke via LAAO, and completed the world’s first clinical implantation of domestically developed LAA occluders. Innovative techniques including kissing dual-occluder closure and complex transseptal occlusion have guided standardized stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation nationwide.
2. Complex Coronary Intervention & Emergency Chest Pain Care: Supported by China’s first internationally certified Chest Pain Center, a 24-hour emergency pathway is available for acute myocardial infarction. The department specializes in high-risk PCI for left main lesions, chronic total occlusion (CTO) and severely calcified coronary arteries, performing over 3,000 coronary interventions yearly with outstanding success rates for elderly high-risk coronary patients.
3. Frontier Physiological Cardiac Pacing: Headed by Professor Li Ruogu, the team is a national pacesetter in His-Purkinje system pacing, having implanted more than 6,000 pacemakers and over 1,000 left bundle branch area pacing devices. It accomplished the world’s first pacemaker implantation across periprosthetic paravalvular leakage and formulated over ten domestic and international clinical consensus documents on cardiac pacing, with top-ranked ICD and CRT implantation volume in Shanghai.
4. Minimally Invasive Intervention for Structural Heart Disease: Routine one-stop procedures include transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), mitral clip repair and congenital heart defect closure via close collaboration with cardiac surgery, completing nearly 200 minimally invasive valve interventions annually. It provides standardized full-cycle management combining device therapy and medication for end-stage high-risk heart failure.
5. Outstanding Translational Research: Focused on independent R&D of domestic cardiovascular devices, refractory hypertension and inherited cardiomyopathy, multiple original clinical findings have been presented at prestigious international conferences such as ESC Congress and accelerated the clinical launch of numerous domestically made cardiovascular implants.

II. Department of Cardiac and Great Vessel Surgery

Evolved from the original integrated cardiothoracic surgery division and established as an independent department in 1983, it is among China’s earliest centers for open valvular surgery and extracorporeal circulation cardiac procedures. Senior experts independently developed China’s first homemade heart-lung machine and artificial vascular grafts, realizing multiple landmark breakthroughs in domestic cardiac surgery.

Now divided into six subspecialties: valvular surgery, coronary surgery, great vessel surgery, minimally invasive & robotic cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiac surgery, and extracorporeal circulation & critical care, it remains a key national training institute for standardized cardiothoracic surgery residency.

Core Clinical Advantages

1. Nation-leading Native Valve Repair: It established Shanghai’s first integrated cardiology-surgery Valvular Heart Disease Center, achieving far higher native mitral valve repair rates for rheumatic and degenerative lesions than the national average. Pioneered innovative operations include LAMPOON leaflet splitting plus transcatheter valve-in-valve replacement and modified mitral annuloplasty. Reoperative minimally invasive replacement for degenerated bioprosthetic valves and complex redo surgery for heavily calcified valves are its signature strengths.
2. Precision Minimally Invasive Coronary Bypass: Routine operations include off-pump total arterial CABG (OPCAB), mini-incision MIDCAB and Da Vinci robotic coronary bypass. The department excels in redo bypass for in-stent restenosis and revascularization for critically ill patients over 80 years old, with hundreds of high-risk bypass cases yearly and extremely low surgical mortality.
3. Round-the-clock Emergency Great Vessel Program: A 24/7 emergency green channel is dedicated to Type A aortic dissection. Sophisticated procedures such as Bentall, David, total arch replacement plus frozen elephant trunk (Sun’s procedure) and thoracoabdominal aortic replacement are routinely performed. It maintains top-tier survival rates for Marfan syndrome and ruptured aortic dissection, with ECMO and IABP available for perioperative life support of critical great vessel cases.
4. Minimally Invasive & Robotic Cardiac Surgery: An early pioneer of full thoracoscopic cardiac surgery in East China with mature Da Vinci robotic valve repair and CABG. Cooperating with cardiology within hybrid operating rooms, it carries out one-stop hybrid operations combining mini-incision bypass with coronary intervention or open surgery plus transcatheter valve therapy to minimize surgical trauma in elderly patients.
5. Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease & Advanced Heart Failure Surgery: It provides corrective surgery spanning neonates to adults for congenital heart defects, including minimally invasive repair for complex cyanotic CHD and large septal defects. Building on heart transplantation experience, the department performs ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation and ECMO-supported surgery for end-stage heart failure alongside cardiology, forming a full-spectrum treatment chain covering medication, interventional therapy, surgical correction and heart transplantation.

III. Integrated Features of the Combined Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery Center

The hospital has developed a distinctive in-depth MDT collaboration model between cardiology and cardiac surgery supported by multiple internationally equipped hybrid operating rooms:

1. One-stop integrated treatment for valvular heart disease: Individualized treatment plans combining transcatheter TAVR/mitral clip from cardiology or minimally invasive/open surgical repair per patients’ age and systemic condition;
2. Hybrid revascularization for complex coronary artery disease: One-stage mini-invasive bypass plus staged PCI for high-risk multivessel coronary lesions to reduce perioperative risks for elderly patients with multiple comorbidities;
3. Full-cycle joint management for refractory heart failure: Cardiologists optimize pharmacotherapy and implantable devices while cardiac surgeons deliver surgical repair, VAD implantation and heart transplantation;
4. Combined emergency rescue for multi-lesion complex heart disease: Concurrent one-stop operations for patients complicated with combined coronary, valvular and aortic pathologies.It is the preferred tertiary referral center for complex combined cardiovascular diseases across East China.

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