Combined multidisciplinary surgery adapted to the development of disease complexity

  Recently, a patient suffering from severe valve disease, congenital heart disease and gynecological tumor was successfully operated with aortic valve replacement, atrial septal defect repair and left adnexal teratoma removal by the joint efforts of specialists from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, which relieved her heart disease and gynecological disease for many years.  The patient suffered from severe valve disease and congenital heart disease for many years, and this year a mass was found in her left adnexa, which had recently increased rapidly. After visiting Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, specialists from the Department of Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology consulted and discussed her complicated condition, and concluded that if each department dealt with it separately, they would encounter problems that were contradictory to our treatment but inevitable.  In the end, Cardiovascular Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology, together with specialists from the Department of Anesthesiology and the Surgical Care Unit, decided to perform both surgeries at the same time. After joint efforts, the patient successfully underwent aortic valve replacement, atrial septal defect repair and left adnexal teratoma resection, curing the valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease and gynecologic tumor at the same time. According to the patient’s chief surgeon, Dr. Minxin Wei, chief of cardiovascular surgery at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, this was a case of complex comorbidity for which combined surgery was the best treatment option. Through this multidisciplinary joint treatment method, multiple problems can be solved for the patient at one time, with high efficiency and low cost, so that the patient can benefit the most, and its treatment idea and surgical strategy are somewhat innovative.  In the past five years since its establishment, the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery has maintained a leading level in the treatment of coronary heart disease, valve disease and complex congenital heart disease in China; and has performed many surgeries in cooperation with other departments, including coronary artery bypass and colon cancer resection in cooperation with the Department of Anal and Intestinal Surgery, and valve replacement and lung tumor resection in cooperation with the Department of Pulmonary Oncology Surgery; in addition, it has also performed many cases of combined multiple diseases in cooperation with the Department of Internal Medicine. In addition, she has also cooperated with internal medicine departments to perform many cardiac surgeries for patients with multiple diseases, such as coronary artery bypass grafting for patients with rarefaction syndrome, valve replacement for patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, etc., all with satisfactory results.  With the continuous socio-economic development, the sudden increase of work pressure, the change of living habits, and the aging of the population, the types of diseases suffered have gradually developed from simple single diseases to multiple diseases, and many patients have already combined multiple diseases during their consultation. According to research, more than half of the elderly patients who visit hospitals have two or more combined diseases, and many of them need simultaneous treatment or even simultaneous surgery to achieve the best results.  Throughout the medical field at home and abroad, comprehensive treatment, multidisciplinary collaboration and joint development have become the inevitable trend of today’s medical development, and only with the strength of multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment can we really provide the best treatment plan for patients. As the largest general hospital in Tianjin, the General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, with years of medical and teaching accumulation, all disciplines are at the leading level in Tianjin. Relying on the advantages of multidisciplinary integration, the General Hospital provides combined and collaborative treatment for patients with a wide range of combined diseases and has achieved good treatment results. The ability to successfully complete this type of complex surgery is also a reflection of the strong strength and comprehensive advantages of the General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University.  At present, the cardiovascular surgery department of the General Hospital is still developing, and the second phase expansion project is underway, which has a joint operating room of cardiology and cardiac surgery, which can complete coronary angiography, catheter intervention and cardiac surgery at the same time, so that the diagnosis and treatment can be completed at the same time and improve the efficiency of treatment. With the continuous development of modern medicine, the cardiovascular surgery department of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital will also gradually develop and progress.