Department of Thoracic Surgery

Overview

1) Department Introduction:

The Department of Thoracic Surgery at Peking University People's Hospital was established in 1952. It is one of the earliest thoracic surgery departments in China. In 1960, the department performed the nation's first esophageal reconstruction using the colon. In 1977, the department successfully completed China's first autologous lung transplantation for a patient with end-stage lung cancer. Both achievements mark significant milestones in the history of thoracic surgery in China.

In 2000, Professor Wang Jun took leadership of the department and founded the first Center for Minimally Invasive Diagnosis and Treatment of Thoracic Diseases in China. Professor Wang Jun was the first Chinese recipient of the Graham Fellowship awarded by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). In 1992, Professor Wang Jun performed China's first video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). He subsequently developed specialized VATS instruments tailored to Chinese patients and pioneered a surgical technique known as "Wang's Technique", which has significantly advanced the transformation and modernization of thoracic surgery throughout the country. In 2019, in recognition of his outstanding contributions and lasting impact, Professor Wang Jun was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Over the past decades, most of the VATS procedures practiced in China were introduced and developed by the department, establishing the foundation of the country's comprehensive minimally invasive treatment system for lung cancer. In 2011, the department was designated a National Key Clinical Specialty by the Ministry of Health. The following year,  Professor Wang Jun led the National Project "Establishment, Clinical Research, and Application of a Minimally Invasive Integrated Treatment System for Lung Cancer in China," which was awarded the Second Prize of the National Award for Science and Technology Progress—the only national-level award ever granted in the field of lung cancer treatment in China.

2) Our Team:

The department currently comprises 109 staff members, including 32 full-time physicians (18 of whom hold senior professional titles), 67 nurses, and 4 dedicated research personnel. Dr. Li Yun serves as the administrative director of the department. Several faculty members have been recognized as national and regional academic leaders through programs such as the National High-Level Personnel of Special Support Program, Beijing Physician-Scientists, Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star Program, and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology. Many also hold leadership positions in major academic organizations, including the Chinese Medical Association, Chinese Medical Doctor Association, China Anti-Cancer Association, and Chinese Research Hospital Association.

Clinical Services

The department specializes in minimally invasive procedures and comprehensive treatment of lung cancer, and provides patients with safe, effective, and cost-efficient medical services. It currently has 172 inpatient beds, with over 8,000 admissions and 5,800 surgeries performed annually(2024). The complexity, diversity, and volume of these procedures place the department at the forefront of thoracic surgery nationally and internationally.

Clinical Expertise:

    Comprehensive Minimally Invasive Management of Lung Cancer;

    Minimally Invasive Treatment of Benign and Malignant Esophageal Diseases;

    Minimally Invasive Surgery for Thymic Diseases;

    Minimally Invasive Treatment for Palmar Hyperhidrosis;

    Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Airway Tumors and Foreign Bodies;

    Image-Guided Ablation for Pulmonary Tumors.

Education and Training

The department is responsible for educating clinical doctoral and master's students in Peking University's medical training program, with 6 doctoral supervisors and 2 master's supervisors. It regularly organizes academic activities such as thematic lectures on thoracic diseases, clinical case discussions, and English literature reviews. Weekly teaching rounds and case reviews, often led by academicians, further support clinical education.

The department also actively engages in educational activities both domestically and internationally. It contributes to the authorship and revision of clinical medicine textbooks and leads the Postgraduate Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Education Committee under the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Through continuing medical education programs, the department promotes and standardizes the comprehensive system of minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment for thoracic diseases across China.

Scientific Research

As the home of the Thoracic Oncology Institute of Peking University People's Hospital, the department holds significant academic influence both in China and internationally. Currently, the department is hosting 33 national-level research projects and 13 industry-academic collaborations, including major initiatives under the country's Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Projects, original exploration projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and various Peking University-level research programs. The institute is dedicated to establishing a new paradigm for translational research in lung cancer by exploring the disease mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.

Current research focuses on three main areas:

    1. Clinical Research: Develop early screening and diagnostic models for pan-cancers using liquid biopsy technologies, as well as explore novel immunotherapies and targeted treatments for lung cancer；

    2. Basic Research: Investigate the molecular characteristics and progression of lung cancer, especially in ground-glass pulmonary nodules；

    3. Engineering–Medicine Integration: Apply near-infrared fluorescence imaging in thoracic surgery and develop AI-assisted thoracoscopic surgery systems.

International Collaboration

The department maintains long-term and in-depth collaborations with leading clinical and research institutions worldwide, including the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital (USA), the Thoracic Surgery Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (USA), the Francis Crick Institute (UK), and the Center of Excellence for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Michigan (USA).