China's Top Departments: Urology at Changzheng Hospital (Naval Medical University)

If you or a loved one is confronting prostate cancer, kidney cancer, complex urinary stones, or male infertility and other andrologic conditions, the Department of Urology at Changzheng Hospital offers one of China's deepest pools of expertise — a National Key Discipline with a 60-plus-year history, a robotic surgery program among the busiest in the country, and five dedicated sub-specialty teams.

Overview

The Department of Urology is one of the six traditional flagship disciplines of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Changzheng Hospital). It is a National Key Discipline and a Shanghai Key Discipline, and the home of the PLA Urology Center and the PLA Institute of Organ Transplantation. The department was founded in 1959 by the renowned urology and kidney-transplantation specialists He Zongli, He Changmin, Min Zhilian and Zhu Youhua; its former directors include He Zongli, He Changming, Min Zhilian, Zhu Youhua, Xu Danfeng and Wang Linhui, and its current director — who also serves as Director of the PLA Urology Center — is Professor Ren Shancheng.

Over decades of development the department built a strong reputation in kidney transplantation, achieving multiple "firsts in China," and in recent years it has become led by minimally invasive technology, organized around five sub-specialty directions: urologic oncology (prostate, kidney and bladder cancer), prostate disease, urinary stones, andrology, and pelvic floor disorders.

Hospital Background

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Changzheng Hospital) is a tertiary (Class A) general hospital integrating clinical care, teaching and research. Its six traditional flagship disciplines are orthopedics, urology, neurosurgery, nephrology, burns & plastic surgery, and emergency & critical care medicine.

The main campus sits at 415 Fengyang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai — within walking distance of People's Square. The hospital also operates a Pudong campus at 1366 Jinzuan Road, Caolu Town, Pudong New Area, which opened in April 2026, expanding access for patients in eastern Shanghai.

Academic Platforms

• National Key Discipline, Shanghai Key Discipline, PLA Urology Center, PLA Institute of Organ Transplantation
• Founded in 1959; authorized for master's degrees in 1985 and doctoral degrees in 1992
• In 2003, established the East China Laparoscopic Minimally Invasive Urology Center and the East China Voiding Dysfunction Diagnosis and Treatment Center — among the earliest such centers in China
• In 2016, established the Robotic Surgery Center
• In 2021, established the Shanghai "Belt and Road" International Joint Key Laboratory of Urologic Oncology

Leadership

Prof. Ren Shancheng (任善成)

• Professor, Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor; Director of Urology, Director of the Robotic Surgery Center and Party Branch Secretary of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University; Leader of the National Key Discipline, Leader of the Shanghai Key Discipline, Director of the PLA Urology Center, Director of the PLA Key Clinical Specialty, and Director of the Shanghai "Belt and Road" International Joint Key Laboratory of Urologic Oncology
• National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholar (2021) and Ministry of Education Changjiang Young Scholar (2017); chief scientist of a National Major Science and Technology Program; recipient of a State Council Special Allowance; listed among the world's top 2% scientists
• Major honors: Shanghai Natural Science Award First Prize (first author, 2024), Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress First Prize (first author, 2022), "National Famous Doctor · Outstanding Style" (2025), "National Famous Doctor · Young Rising Star" (2019), the Shanghai "Silver Snake Award" First Prize — the highest honor for young health professionals in Shanghai (2019), the Shulan Medical Youth Award (2019), and the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery China 100,000-Case Outstanding Contribution Award (2018)
• Clinical focus: minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy, da Vinci robotics) and comprehensive treatment of prostate cancer, nerve-sparing surgery, precision prostate biopsy and surgery for complex, high-risk and difficult prostate cancer; minimally invasive surgery for kidney and bladder cancer; comprehensive management of advanced urologic tumors. Trained in da Vinci robotics at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong (2011), he is among the earliest surgeons in China to perform robotic surgery
• Surgical volume: has personally performed more than 5,000 minimally invasive urologic procedures, including more than 4,000 robotic surgeries; performed Asia's first single-port robotic radical prostatectomy and Asia's first transperineal robotic radical prostatectomy
• Research: first to map the molecular landscape of prostate cancer in the Chinese population, proposed a molecular classification, and developed an AI model for non-invasive prostate cancer diagnosis; has led more than 30 national and provincial/ministerial projects; as corresponding or first author has published 80+ SCI papers in journals such as Nat Med, Nat Genet, Nature Cancer, Cell Res, Nat Cell Biol, Mol Cell, J Clin Invest, Nat Commun and Eur Urol
• Military and engineering innovation: as chief scientist, led development of the carrier-based surgical robot system "Hai Tu", completing the first intercontinental ultra-long-distance carrier-based robotic surgery — a one-way distance of 12,000 km

Other Key Physicians

• Dr. Chen Jie (陈杰), Deputy Director: Associate Chief Physician, Associate Professor; complex urinary stones, minimally invasive urologic oncology, and comprehensive management of ureteral stricture
• Min Zhilian (闵志廉): Chief Physician, Professor; urologic tumors, stones, prostate disorders, urethral stricture and endourologic surgery
• Ren Jizhong (任吉忠): Chief Physician, Professor; minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery for difficult urologic conditions and kidney, renal pelvis, bladder and prostate tumors; among the earliest in China to treat female urinary incontinence
• Yao Yacheng, Yin Lei, Wang Junkai, Chen Ming, Xu Weidong, Ji Mingfei: Associate Chief Physicians / Associate Professors covering urologic oncology, stones, prostate disease, robotic and single-port minimally invasive surgery, and urinary tract reconstruction

Core Strengths

Robotic Minimally Invasive Surgery

The department operates two da Vinci robots and one domestic surgical robot, and in October 2019 was designated a "da Vinci Robotic Surgery China Urology Clinical Teaching Demonstration Base."

Cumulative robotic surgeries exceed 4,000, with nearly 1,000 robotic urologic procedures per year — per-unit surgical volume among the highest in China — making it one of the earliest and highest-volume robotic surgery teams in the country.

The team has logged multiple Asian and Chinese firsts in single-port robotic laparoscopic surgery: Asia's first single-port robotic laparoscopic zero-ischemia partial nephrectomy, Asia's first single-port robotic laparoscopic orthotopic neobladder, Asia's first single-port robotic laparoscopic radical cystectomy, China's first single-port robotic radical prostatectomy and transperineal robotic radical prostatectomy, and China's first single-port robotic laparoscopic adrenalectomy.

Prostate Cancer

• Routine use of template + image-fusion targeted biopsy for precise localization of lesions
• For early/low-risk disease: radiotherapy and irreversible electroporation focal ablation to control the tumor at minimal cost to quality of life
• For low/intermediate-risk localized disease: proprietary techniques of "maximal preservation of peri-prostatic structures" and "single-port transvesical robotic surgery" to improve postoperative continence and erectile function
• For high-risk disease: internationally the first to propose a "sandwich therapy" model — neoadjuvant radiotherapy plus endocrine therapy, followed by surgery and adjuvant endocrine therapy — converting previously unresectable tumors into operable ones
• For advanced disease: routine multidisciplinary (MDT) consultation; ongoing clinical studies include immunotherapy combined with anti-angiogenic targeted therapy for neuroendocrine prostate cancer and a self-developed enhanced autologous PSMA CAR-T therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer

Kidney Cancer

• A flagship condition, with surgical volume consistently among the leaders in Shanghai Shenkang single-disease rankings; a clinical decision evaluation system for high-risk kidney cancer and individualized molecular diagnostic standards for targeted therapy have been established
• Robotics and 3D/single-port laparoscopy refine the minimally invasive approach; a strategy centered on surgery plus individualized targeted therapy, combined with modalities such as CyberKnife, prolongs progression-free survival in advanced cases
• Designated a National Quality Control Center for Kidney Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, setting a standard clinical pathway for kidney cancer care in China

Urinary Stones

• A one-stop "treatment–prevention" program, characterized by ultra-minimally invasive and diversified techniques
• Using visualization, ultra-thin-tract percutaneous nephroscopy, rigid/flexible ureteroscopy and combined endoscopic techniques, the department achieves a 100% minimally invasive rate, with skin incisions of less than 3 mm or none at all
• Services include extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) and vertical-motion stone expulsion; newer techniques such as ureteroscopic balloon dilation and appendiceal-patch ureteral replacement treat stone-related ureteral stricture
• Individualized follow-up and health guidance based on blood, urine and stone-composition analyses aim to prevent stone recurrence

Andrology & Pelvic Floor

• Equipped with an andrology laboratory, examination rooms and a microsurgery center, including low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) and other advanced equipment
• Routine testicular biopsy and micro-TESE, microscopic varicocelectomy, and microscopic reanastomosis for obstructive azoospermia; microsurgical procedures account for more than 80% of andrology surgery
• Testis-sparing surgery for testicular germ cell tumors and laparoscopic inguinal lymph node dissection for penile cancer; among the first in China to introduce seminal vesiculoscopy and among the earlier centers in China to perform penile prosthesis implantation for erectile dysfunction

Research & Honors

• Has undertaken more than 30 national, military and Shanghai funding projects, including National Natural Science Foundation Key Projects, National Key R&D Programs and PLA logistics key research projects; published more than 100 SCI papers in journals such as Nat Med, Nat Genet, Nat Cell Biol, Mol Cell, Nat Commun and Eur Urol, and edited 9 monographs
• Awards include one National Science and Technology Progress Award First Prize and two Second Prizes; two Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress First Prizes; one each of PLA Medical Achievement First, Second and Third Prizes; one each of PLA Science and Technology Progress Second and Third Prizes; three Shanghai Science and Technology Progress First Prizes and one Second Prize; and more than 30 national patents
• Note: this guide is compiled from the hospital's official website and public authoritative sources and does not cite specific ranking placements from unverified sources

Location & Contact

• Main campus (Huangpu): 415 Fengyang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai — near People's Square, served by Metro Lines 1/2/8
• Pudong campus: 1366 Jinzuan Road, Caolu Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai (opened April 2026)
• Hospital switchboard (public): 021-81886999 / 021-63586818

Naval Medical University runs two leading urology programs in Shanghai: if you are comparing options, see our companion guide to the urology department at Changhai Hospital — the sister hospital of the same university. For patients considering surgery at Changzheng more broadly, we also cover Changzheng Hospital's neurosurgery department.