The Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery at First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University is a National Clinical Key Specialty and a key discipline in Chongqing. It serves as a training base for the National Primary Liver Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Standardization Program and is one of the first pilot units for quality control in the standardized treatment of liver and pancreatic cancers. Additionally, the department holds leadership roles in multiple national and regional medical associations, including the chairman unit of the Upper Yangtze River Endoscopic Surgery (ERCP) Alliance, and Chongqing Organ Transplant Center, Chongqing General Surgery (including liver, pancreas, and small intestine transplantation) Medical Quality Control Center, Chongqing Liver Cancer Quality Control Center and chair unit of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Branch of the Chongqing Medical Association.
As a leading center for hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases, the department integrates medical treatment, scientific research, and high-level talent training. It is the largest hepatobiliary surgery center in Chongqing, with 233 beds across three campuses (143 beds at the Yuanjiagang campus, 45 beds at the Jingwei Campus, and 45 beds at the Jinshan Campus). Annually, the department handles over 50,000 outpatient visits and performs more than 7,000 surgeries, including over 800 laparoscopic liver resections, more than 1,500 ERCP surgeries, over 1,200 hepatobiliary interventional treatments, and more than 150 laparoscopic pancreatic surgeries. Notably, over 18% of patients come from other regions, demonstrating the department’s regional and national reputation.
The department is equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, including the Da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical system, 3D and 4K fluorescence laparoscopic systems, BK ultrasound imaging, low-dose X-ray machines, SpyGlass cholangioscopy system, and dedicated ERCP hybrid operating suites. Key areas of expertise and innovation include organ transplantation and minimally invasive surgery techniques, with a minimally invasive surgery rate exceeding 95%. The department has extensive experience in DCD liver transplantation, living donor liver transplantation, and minimally invasive liver transplantation. It also performs laparoscopic and robotic liver resections, radical surgeries for hepatic hilum cholangiocarcinoma, pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure), pylorus-preserving pancreatic head resection, vascular resection and reconstruction in liver, and pancreatic surgeries. Additionally, endoscopic treatments (ERCP) are offered for bile duct and pancreatic duct stones and tumors. The department also provides interventional therapy for hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors, TIPS (Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt) for portal hypertension, PTCS (Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangioscopy) for intrahepatic biliary stones, and infectious diseases of the hepatobiliary and pancreatic system.
Over 90% of the department’s physicians hold doctoral degrees, and physicians frequently pursue training and academic exchange programs at leading domestic and international institutions. The department maintains long-term collaborations with prestigious universities and hospitals, including Kyoto University, the University of Tokyo, the University of Strasbourg, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California, Zhejiang University, Sun Yat-sen University, and Renji Hospital Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medical. The department currently has 4 doctoral supervisors, 11 master supervisors, 11 professors, 9 associate professors and a team of attending physicians and resident physicians, and has trained over a hundred master’s and doctoral graduates. Several faculty members hold prominent positions in national and regional academic institutions. Professor DU Chengyou serves as the deputy chairman of the Cell and Tissue Transplantation Committee, Organ Transplantation Branch, Chinese Medical Association, a member of the Liver Cancer Committee, Chinese Medical Association, and the chairman of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Branch, Chongqing Medical Association. Professor WU Zhongjun is a standing committee member of the Organ Transplantation Branch, Chinese Medical Association and a standing committee member of the Organ Transplantation Branch, Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Chief Physician HUANG Ping serves as a member of the Oncology Metastasis Committee, Chinese Medical Association Colorectal Surgery Branch. Professor LUO Fang is a member of the Bile Duct Cancer Committee, Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. Chief Physician LUO Shiqiao serves as a member of the Hepatic Surgery Branch, Chinese Medical Association. Chief Physician CHEN Yong serves as a Youth Committee Member of the Organ Transplantation Branch, Chinese Medical Association and a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Committee, Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. Chief Physician SHI Zhengrong serves as the deputy chairman of the Molecular Targeted Therapy Committee, Chongqing Society of Integrative Medicine. Associate Professor WU Qiao is a member of the Endoscopic Surgery Expert Group, Chinese Medical Association Surgery Branch, a member of the ERCP Expert Committee, Chinese Society of Integrative Medicine, and a member of the Digestive Disease Equipment and Technology Subcommitte, China Medical Equipment Association. Associate Professor LAN Xiang serves as the vice chairman, Youth Committee of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Branch, Chongqing Society of Integrative Medicine. Associate Professor QIU Jianguo is the vice chairman, Youth Committee of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Committee, Chongqing Medical Association. Associate Professor LIAO Rui is a member of the Liver Cancer Committee, Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. Additionally, Dr. Chen Yong, Dr. Shi Zhengrong, and Associate Professor Liao Rui have all been recognized as “Chongqing’s High-End Young and Mid-Aged Medical Talents”.
The department has led and completed numerous high-impact research projects, securing 15.22 million RMB in funding. Key achievements include 171 SCI-indexed publications, multiple national and provincial research grants, including National Natural Science Foundation projects. It organizes annual international and national hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery conferences and has won multiple awards, including the Second Prize of the Chongqing Science and Technology Progress Award and the First Prize of the Chongqing Health Bureau’s Medical Science and Technology Achievement Award. Faculty members have also contributed to multiple surgical textbooks.