Chen Guoqiang, Department of Neurosurgery, Aviation General Hospital of China Medical University
As a doctor, his duty is to save lives and help the injured; as an educator, his duty is to cultivate talents; as the department director, his duty is to build the department …… multiple identities take up Chen Guoqiang’s personal time, but he is happy with himself: “Being a doctor is what I have always aspired to, and patients’ The patient’s affirmation is the biggest recognition for me, and I feel gratified and happy because of it.” This is Chen Guoqiang’s greatest wish in medicine, his purpose of preaching and training new people, his “life in medicine”, and his testimony for the country and the people on the stage of “functional minimally invasive neurosurgery”.
Love for medicine and connection to the Divine Surgery
Linli is a small county in the northwest of Hunan Province. When Chen Guoqiang was a child, there was no decent hospital here. Whenever he got sick, whether it was a cold, fever or diarrhea, his parents took him to a village doctor. Once Chen Guoqiang accidentally dislocated his arm, the village doctor gave him a tug, put some medicine on it, and it healed in a few days. At that time, even the street doctors were unattainable in the eyes of children. Parents were respectful when they saw them, and they were grandly entertained when they came home for dinner on New Year’s Eve. This environment of respect for doctors planted the seeds of medical love in Chen Guoqiang’s young mind. Those doctors who always appeared in his time of crisis to solve people’s pain were like the “gods” and “saints” in mythological stories, which made Chen Guoqiang’s heart long for them.
Some years later, Chen made his first major decision in life: which university to attend? What major to apply for? At this time, his parents told him, like doctors, down-to-earth mastery of a skill, a stable life, out of the home decent and respected, than what is better. Under the persuasion of his parents, his childhood respect and aspiration for doctors came to his mind, so Chen Guoqiang enrolled in Hunan Medical University. With excellent grades, he was successfully admitted, and thus, like those he revered as a child, Chen Guoqiang embarked on a “medical life” to relieve the suffering of patients.
When he entered school, Chen’s specialty was not neurosurgery, but psychiatry, which was prejudiced at the time. In the early 1980s, when food and clothing were difficult to solve, psychiatry was not taken seriously, and Chen was forced to transfer to the neurosurgery department, which was more compatible with psychiatry.
The school opened a gorgeous and colorful window for Chen Guoqiang. Through these windows, he saw the development of the world of medicine and learned about the charm of neurosurgery. “Neurosurgery is a challenging discipline”, Chen Guoqiang wandered in the vast knowledge of neurosurgery, greedily drawing nutrients, just like a lamb that has been hungry for a long time entering the grassland with rich water and grass, bathing in the fresh air, enjoying the gifts of nature.
After graduating from his undergraduate program, Chen was assigned to Beijing China-Japan Friendship Hospital. Here, for the first time, Chen Guoqiang spilled his sweat for the medical construction of his country, and also for the first time, he appreciated the solemnity of doctors’ duties and the country’s thirst for advanced medical technology and equipment. During the close encounters, the painful expressions of patients, the dedicated attitude of hospital doctors, and the outdated medical equipment and technology made Chen Guoqiang understand that the path of medicine was not as romantic as he had imagined.
Studying overseas, he started the path of functional minimally invasive surgery
The medical term “functional minimally invasive” may still be unfamiliar to most people, but it is more than familiar to Chen Guoqiang. Because functional neurosurgery has its own characteristics and the treatment method is different from general neurosurgery, there are still few hospitals in China with functional neurosurgeons, and Chen Guoqiang is not only the top expert in functional neurosurgery. In China, there are not more than 5 doctors who master this most advanced “ventricular soft microscopy technique”, two of them are his students.
Looking back on the joy and hardship along the way, Chen Guoqiang has a lot of feelings, among which the experience of studying in a foreign country is still fresh in his mind.
In the 1970s and 1980s, neurosurgery in China was in its infancy; CT machines were only invented by British and American scientists in 1971, MRI was not yet available, and people’s knowledge of the brain was extremely limited due to the lack of these high-tech diagnostic techniques. Chen Guoqiang recalled that at that time, the surgery basically relied on the doctor’s speculation, thinking that where there is a problem, in which part of the head to make a large hole, the surgery process is completely based on the naked eye, and even to reach into the head to pull out the tumor. At that time, it was very normal for a patient to die during neurosurgery, and it became a very big deal if one could be saved. At that time, Chen Guoqiang realized that if he wanted to do research and surgery properly, the hardware conditions must keep up. China does not have advanced equipment, so we have to introduce and create it.
In 1997, Chen Guoqiang was sent to Japan Medical University for one year to study under Professor Hideo Kamikawa, a famous Japanese neuroendoscopist, and Professor Teramoto, a famous pituitary tumor treatment specialist. When he first arrived in Japan, Chen Guoqiang was shocked by the advanced surgical equipment and technology, especially he was excited by the learning of neuroendoscopy, a thin black hose that made him realize that in neurosurgery, the opening on the patient’s head could be smaller, causing less trauma and the mortality rate of the patient could be reduced more.
After returning to China, Chen Guoqiang brought many advanced surgical methods back to China, not only undertaking the Ministry of Health scientific research project (application of neuroendoscopy in neurosurgery), but also applying minimally invasive endoscopic surgery to many aspects of neurosurgery, carrying out neuroendoscopic treatment of various ventricular diseases, resection of pituitary tumors via single nostril, minimally invasive resection of auditory neuroma, cholesteatoma and saddle area tumors with endoscopic assisted locking hole, and endoscopic application in cranial nerve decompression surgery such as facial spasm and trigeminal neuralgia. He also pioneered the international first neuroendoscopic borehole irrigation for chronic subdural hematoma (without postoperative drainage placement), which has a high one-time cure rate and low surgical complications.
In addition to the learning of professional technology, the Japanese doctors’ delicacy and rigor also deeply impressed Chen Guoqiang. Due to the very meticulous surgical procedure, the Japanese doctors took a longer time to do a surgery and tried to minimize the trauma and bleeding. This concept of surgery had a great impact on Chen Guoqiang, and he gradually realized that a doctor does not need to be all-powerful, but only needs to be precise and specialized in one or two aspects, and to be the best. In neurosurgery, Chen Guoqiang can perform basically all surgeries related to brain nerves, but in order to pursue “precision” and “specialization”, he chose the treatment of cranial nerve diseases including trigeminal neuralgia, facial spasm, lingual-pharyngeal neuralgia, and ventricular endoscopic surgery as his research direction. He has chosen the treatment of cranial nerve diseases including trigeminal neuralgia, facial spasm, lingual neuralgia and ventricular endoscopy as his research direction. There are soft and hard ventricular endoscopes, which are more difficult to control than hard ones, but they are flexible, less traumatic to the brain, and have a broader treatment scope. Chen Guoqiang became the first person to do ventricular soft scope in China. Many patients suffering from difficult hydrocephalus, cerebral hemorrhage and other ventricular diseases were about to struggle to death with traditional treatments, but he easily rescued them with a black hose. At present, he treats more than 1,000 patients with facial spasm, trigeminal neuralgia and glossopharyngeal neuralgia every year, and is currently the expert with the highest number of annual surgical cases, surgical efficacy and surgical safety in China.
In 2004, he left China-Japan Friendship Hospital and came to Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital as an introduced talent. Many people found it difficult to understand the change from a tertiary hospital to a secondary hospital, from a well-known hospital to a less famous one, but only he himself firmly believed that it was the full support of Yuquan Hospital for the development of neurosurgery that moved him, where he would have a more open development prospect.
After coming to Yuquan Hospital, Chen Guoqiang founded the Department of Functional and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery and became the director of the department. Nowadays, the department has established 6 specialized groups (specialized group for stereotactic functional diseases and epilepsy treatment, specialized group for cranial nerve disease treatment, specialized group for pain treatment, specialized group for cerebrovascular disease treatment, specialized group for brain tumor treatment and specialized group for neuroendoscopy). Since his work, he has published more than 60 articles
He has published more than 60 articles and undertaken 4 national research projects (including National 863
He has also undertaken two research projects of Tsinghua University and has made several inventions (cranial stereotactic instrument and body targeting treatment system), which have been awarded 4 national patents.
In recent years, he has presented at the International Conference on Hydrocephalus and Neuroendoscopy held in USA, Greece, Denmark and Japan. He has been involved in writing books on stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, microvascular decompression for facial spasm, magnetic induction therapy for tumors, and neuroendoscopic techniques for ventricular brain pool diseases. Participated in the translation of Youmans Neurosurgery.
People in the department say that without Chen Guoqiang there would be no functional and minimally invasive neurosurgery at Yuquan Hospital. “Director Chen demands perfection, always does the best he can, and step by step, he has made considerable achievements and has gradually developed the department.” said Wang Xiaosong, a student of Chen Guoqiang’s and now a functional and minimally invasive neurosurgeon at Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital. As he says, Chen Guoqiang has come one step at a time, and today, he has given and gained much more than we can see.
Cultivating a g of clean ground for neurosurgery
Life is full of chance, but behind the chance lies a lot of necessity. If Chen Guoqiang’s association with neurosurgery is due to chance, then his care and persistence in the field is the inevitability of his success.
Wang Xiaosong said that he had never seen such a doctor, who wakes up at 6 a.m. every day from Monday to Friday, arrives at his unit at 7 a.m., first goes to his personal website to answer patients’ inquiries, then goes out to the clinic, during which he does 7 to 9 surgeries, and then goes home at 7 p.m., or later if there are special circumstances. On Saturdays and Sundays, he basically flies around the country, either participating in lectures or instructing other hospitals to carry out surgeries. Chen Guoqiang is such a doctor, since the formation of Yuquan Hospital functional and minimally invasive neurosurgery, basically all year round. “All his time belongs to his patients, his cell phone is on 24 hours a day, even if he calls him at 2 o’clock late at night, he can always be found.” Wang Xiaosong said.
Chen Guoqiang always said that fame and fortune are false, only the recognition of patients is the greatest affirmation for him. So while many hospitals are looking for ways to expand their departments and create economic benefits, Chen Guoqiang still insists on putting patient safety first, preferring not to make money but to consider the long-term prognosis and future of patients. In the face of patients who need to do cranial surgery, many hospitals, in order to generate revenue for the hospital, suggest that patients use titanium plates to repair small surgical bone holes, but Chen Guoqiang does not do so, because these titanium plates can cause artifacts or serious interference in high-field MRI, and patients may not be able to do this examination in the future when the new generation of MRI is used. Sometimes, saving money for patients may even bring misunderstanding from patients, and individual patients may question whether you are not as good as other hospitals because your fees are lower than other units and you do not receive red packets. In Chen’s mind, the interests of patients always come first. This idea is also reflected in the way he performs surgery. For surgery, he advocates “good and fast, ‘good’ first”. Therefore, he does not pursue speed when performing surgery, but rather focuses his skills, patience, and care to maintain a steady state, so that patients respond particularly well after surgery. In addition, in Chen Guoqiang’s dictionary, there is no such word as “special case”, and everyone who comes to see him is treated equally. All patients have to line up, according to the principle of priority for the elderly, pregnant women, etc., in order to see the doctor, not to add traffic. Even if friends have special circumstances, he would rather work overtime to see them, rather than break the rules. Because of these insistences, the department has the most patients and the largest number of surgeries, but it always ranks last in terms of revenue generation. For this reason, Chen Guoqiang has been criticized and questioned, but never wavered.
Chen Guoqiang’s persistence has made the department a clean slate. “When we are his students, although the workload is great, the body is tired, and the money earned is not as much as others, but the heart is not tired, the heart is open.” Wang Xiaosong said. This piece of purity, comforted the tired body of the department doctors, but also won the trust and understanding of patients. So in the neurosurgery risk is very high, disputes are also a lot of cases, Chen Guoqiang’s department rarely appeared in medical disputes. “The people do not want to make trouble in their hearts. As long as we put ourselves in the patient’s shoes, put the patient’s needs first, recommend them the most reasonable treatment plan, do our best to solve the problems the patient wants to solve, and ensure the best results while minimizing the patient’s financial burden, the patient can understand us.” This is the secret of Chen Guoqiang’s cultivation of pure land.
Let knowledge and technology pass on from one generation to the next
”The fire of a star can start a prairie fire.” Chen Guoqiang’s persistence and the kindness of a doctor are like a fire that ignites other sparks in the department one by one. Chen Guoqiang’s philosophy has gradually gained the recognition of all the doctors in the department, and now, under Chen Guoqiang’s leadership, all the doctors in the department think what the patients think and rush to the patients. Whenever there is an emergency surgery, all the doctors rush to work overtime. Because of this style of the department, even though Yuquan Hospital does not advertise, there is an endless stream of patients who come here for medical treatment through word of mouth. Currently, Chen’s department performs more than 1,200 surgeries annually, accounting for 54% of the entire hospital’s neurosurgery volume, of which Chen’s total surgical volume has exceeded 10,000 cases.
These numbers seem incredible to doctors abroad. The average doctor abroad only does 2~4 surgeries a week, and in some developed countries, including the United States and Japan, it is not easy for a doctor to do a thousand surgeries in his lifetime. So, how does Chen Guoqiang’s department accomplish the volume of surgeries? It turns out that the department has a major magic weapon – standardization. “How to check, what materials to use, what situation corresponds to what kind of surgery, including how to observe how to handle after surgery, we have formed a kind of standard pre-program.” The standard Chen Guoqiang said has become a kind of system for the department to guarantee key techniques, and all must abide by it. “Two deputy directors of the department have also been fined by me, and even I myself have had my bonus deducted.” With this system in place, everyone has a clear division of labor and they all follow the standards, which not only improves efficiency, but also allows for timely detection and treatment even when unexpected situations are encountered, so the surgical mortality rate is very low. Always elegant and modest, Chen Guoqiang is not soft when it comes to implementing standardized management. From 2006 to 2010, the department published 17 papers in the Chinese Journal of Neurosurgery, ranking 20th in China (Yuquan Hospital ranks 10th in China), and 13 papers as first author and corresponding author, ranking 7th in China.
Chen Guoqiang always says that the current achievements can be achieved because of a strong team. Chen Guoqiang believes that talent training is a very important part of the development of the department. As the leader of the department, Chen Guoqiang has devoted himself to the cultivation of talents for many years without reservation, and “let go of the students without letting go of their eyes”. Unlike many doctors who take a conservative approach to teaching in order to reduce risk, Chen Guoqiang always creates opportunities for his students, lets them do their work, and is his own gatekeeper. Some doctors are afraid of “starving the master by teaching the disciple” and advise Chen not to be “too stupid”, but Chen does not think so and even asks his students “to surpass me, otherwise he will not be recognized as my student “. There are inevitably some inexperienced people among the students, Chen Guoqiang will give him the opportunity to do the surgery, he is on the side of the gatekeeper, the students do not do well when he then take over to do. “This way neither problems, students also have confidence.” The student has confidence. In Chen Guoqiang this “let go of the eyes” “students must exceed the master” training mode, many students grow up, in just 8 years there are 7 people out of Chen Guoqiang’s department after learning to become the sole director of the department, deputy director, every time you think of Whenever he thinks of these students, Chen Guoqiang proudly says: “I am the director training base here.
Innovative chapter
Chen Guoqiang’s persistence over the years has resulted in many admirable figures. He has not only promoted the functional stereotactic surgery system to dozens of hospitals nationwide, but also independently carried out more than 600 cases of various stereotactic surgeries; independently completed more than 10,000 cases of microvascular decompression, the international first neuroendoscopic drilling and flushing for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (no drainage placed after surgery); created a number of Chinese firsts and world-leading projects in soft neuroendoscopic treatment of ventricular brain pool diseases The treatment of facial myoclonus, tricuspidus, and tricuspidus is the first in China and the world’s leading project. We treat more than 1000 cases of facial spasm and trigeminal neuralgia patients per year, and currently reach 1800 cases/year.
In fact, in addition to being a doctor and department head, Chen Guoqiang has another identity – a researcher. “In the early 1990s, there was no concept of functional minimally invasive surgery in China, and the medical level was not enough, so many patients with hydrocephalus could not be cured at that time. With the technology we have now, this kind of surgery is easy to perform.” It is no exaggeration to say that Chen has witnessed and promoted the development of functional minimally invasive neurosurgery-related technologies in China.
As a researcher, innovation is the word that Guoqiang Chen respects most and works hard for. Over the years, he has invented a multi-functional stereotactic surgery system for neurosurgery and has helped nearly 50 hospitals nationwide to carry out stereotactic surgery, obtained two national invention patents and three utility model patents, presided over a research fund for returnees from the Ministry of Personnel and a medical science fund from Tsinghua Yu Yuan, and also participated in the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Major Research Fund, Beijing Natural Science Fund, etc. In addition, he also participated in many other scientific research projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Major Research Fund, Beijing Natural Research Fund and so on.
What makes him even more proud is that his techniques have been recognized by his peers around the world, and he has become the only Chinese expert who has been invited by the World Hydrocephalus Association to speak at the international annual meeting for four consecutive years.
He has no regrets about his work. For the sake of his deep-rooted medical love, for the health of patients and the development of national medical career, Chen Guoqiang always insists on the front line of the battle. As a teacher, he is kind and amiable; as a department director, he is strict and serious; as a doctor, he is careful and cautious; as a researcher, he dares to think and act. Does he find it hard to transform between so many roles? And what makes him persistent for years? “The recognition of patients is my greatest happiness.” This is Chen Guoqiang’s answer. In this “medical life” road, he never regrets and will go longer, farther and more brilliantly.