The indefatigable “pioneer” in the field of cerebrospinal fluid disease – Remembering the explorer in the field of cerebrospinal fluid in China’s neurosurgery Along with the first ray of morning sunshine, he started his morning check-up. He carefully observes the color and clarity of the cerebrospinal fluid of each post-operative drainage patient, strictly evaluates the recovery of the patient’s consciousness, reaction and speech, patiently talks with the patient or his family, and answers their questions. He needs to know the slightest change in the patient’s condition well, because he is admitting and treating intractable and critical hydrocephalus patients who have failed to be treated in many hospitals. He bears the heavy burden of life, but in the “dance on the tip of the knife”. He is the “savior” in the eyes of patients and their families, but his colleagues liken him to “Dayu” who is “treating the water”, which is a long and arduous process. In the past 3 years since the establishment of the department, he has led the team to treat more than 200 patients with critical infected hydrocephalus every year, with a cure rate of more than 90%, completely overturning the situation of 100% death or serious disability of this kind of disease in the past, and bringing hope and light to patients with complicated hydrocephalus. He is Dr. Li Xiaoyong, an explorer in the field of cerebrospinal fluid disease in China’s neurosurgery department, and he is looking forward to more colleagues joining this team to make this field bigger and stronger, so that more patients can be benefited. The light of hope for desperate patients On November 4, 2011, CCTV’s Ethics and Observations program aired a program called “The Battle of Love and Death”, in which the story of 18-year-old Peiqi Yang, who suffered from unexplained hydrocephalus and was ultimately rescued, touched countless viewers and at the same time, made a medical expert more well-known to more people. He is Yang Piaoqi’s life-saving benefactor – China’s neurosurgical field of cerebrospinal fluid explorer, director of the Department of Cerebrospinal Fluid of the Aviation General Hospital, Dr. Li Xiaoyong. “The patients who came to see Dr. Li were basically those who had failed to seek medical treatment for many times and were in a desperate situation of being disabled or on the verge of death, but under Dr. Li’s careful treatment, 90% of them achieved satisfactory results. As a result, touching stories abound in our department.” Under the narration of Dr. Chen Hongwei, Director Li Xiaoyong’s assistant, the reporter learned the story of a 5-year-old traumatic little patient with hydrocephalus. September 4, 2011, in the subway station near the General Aviation Hospital, more than 30-year-old mother Li Weili tears in her eyes, holding the arms of the waning, waning daughter, her heart like a knife. It turned out that in 2009, one day in the Spring Festival, 2-year-old daughter riding a tricycle to play, unfortunately a wire from the right nostril into the brain, postoperative infection caused hydrocephalus. In the following seven months, she underwent four cerebrospinal fluid shunt surgeries in a famous hospital in Zhengzhou, but the postoperative infections were repeated and the treatments failed. After the last “fourth ventricular shunt surgery” and the shunt infection, she was told to go to Beijing Aviation General Hospital to find Director Li Xiaoyong to try her luck, and she was afraid that it was hopeless! At this time, in order to treat their daughter, this rural family not only spent all their savings but also borrowed a lot of debt from relatives and friends. After finding Director Li Xiaoyong and realizing that it would take a long time for the difficult treatment and the high cost of the treatment, the pain in the heart and the financial pressure that she had experienced for a long time forced the mother to make a cruel decision to give up her daughter! On the way back to her hometown by subway, the child suddenly began to whimper and struggled to use her last strength to beat her mother’s chest. Although the torture of the disease had made the child’s speech slurred, from the child’s grief, despair, horror and anger, the mother realized that the mother and daughter were connected, and that the child had already sensed her decision! In a moment, her heart as a mother was deeply burned: “No matter how hard it is, I will seek treatment from Dr. Li Xiaoyong, even if it is just a try, I will fight for my daughter’s last ray of hope.” The mother resolutely changed her decision. Considering the child’s family situation, Director Li had minimized the treatment cost. After the initial 2 months of treatment, the little patient was completely cured of episodic hydrocephalus, but “isolated enlarged hydrocephalus of the fourth ventricle” was still a difficult problem for Director Li Xiaoyong and his peers in the industry, and at this time, the tight medical expenses were about to be exhausted. In order not to let the child’s treatment be abandoned halfway, Director Li Xiaoyong actively ran around and got the assistance from the “Angel Mom” fund for her. After more than 5 months of careful treatment, the little patient finally got the successful result of the fourth ventricular shunt and was discharged from the hospital in April of the following year. When talking about the solution to this problem, Director Li Xiaoyong said excitedly, “This case contributes new ideas and methods for the medical community to explore the fourth ventricle cerebrospinal fluid shunt”. This little patient went to school half a year after her discharge from the hospital, and took the first place in her class in her first exam, and is now a healthy and happy elementary school student with good character and academic performance, and her name is Panpan Li. “Cerebrospinal fluid shunt obstruction and intracranial infection occurring after hydrocephalus shunt surgery have been two world medical problems, through years of research, it can be said that we have mastered the key to crack this problem.” Director Li Xiaoyong was full of confidence and pride when he introduced his research results to the reporter. Behind this academic confidence, is a medical expert adhering to the spirit of science, decades as one day, dedicated research and tireless exploration of the results. The reporter had the honor to approach Director Li Xiaoyong, to understand the difficulties he has always been firm as one, and finally achieved the road of medical exploration.