China's Top Departments: Cardiovascular Surgery at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital

If you need heart valve surgery, coronary bypass, aortic repair, congenital heart surgery or a heart transplant evaluation, the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital is one of China's most established surgical destinations — founded in 1958 under the Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, home to the only WHO Collaborating Center for Cardiovascular Research and Training in China, and ranked No. 3 nationwide in Fudan's Cardiac & Macrovascular Surgery ranking for 10 consecutive years. The hospital's Concord Senior Medical Center international care platform has treated foreign nationals from more than 50 countries.

About the Hospital

Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (also known as the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences) is a large modern Grade III-A (tertiary A) general hospital and one of the strongest public hospitals in South China. Founded in 1946 (formerly Guangzhou Central Hospital), it has ranked among the very top hospitals in China's national performance assessment for tertiary public hospitals, receiving the highest grade A++ (top 1% nationally) in 2019, 2023 and 2024.

• Tier: Grade III-A general hospital; national tertiary public hospital performance grade A++ (top 1% nationally)
• Academic strength: 18 National Key Clinical Specialties and 36 Guangdong Provincial Key Clinical Specialties; six directly affiliated research institutes, including the Guangdong Provincial Cardiovascular Institute
• Cardiovascular platform: Selected in 2019 as a national "National Cardiovascular Regional Medical Center" (co-built by the province and the national government); has served since 1980 as the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Cardiovascular Research and Training — the only such WHO center in China; holds organ transplant licenses for heart, lung, liver and kidney; heart transplant volume has ranked among China's top three for four consecutive years and among the world's top ten heart transplant centers
• Honors: In 2023 the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery became the first and only medical institution to receive the "Guangdong Provincial Government Quality Award"
• Campuses: Dongchuan, Pingzhou and Huifu campuses
• Address: No. 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong (city center)
• Getting here: Located in the central Yuexiu District of Guangzhou with convenient public transport. Guangzhou is a core city of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area; Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport offers international and Southeast Asian routes, and the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong High-Speed Railway connects to Hong Kong West Kowloon
• International services: The hospital hosts the Concord Senior Medical Center (formerly the Sino-foreign "Guangdong Concord Medical Center," established in 1996 and a pioneer among public hospitals in adopting the operating model of private hospitals outside the Chinese mainland). It serves international patients, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, expatriates and premium commercial-insurance clients, and has treated large numbers of foreign nationals from more than 50 countries. It covers about 2,500 m² and includes both outpatient and inpatient facilities. In 2026 the hospital was selected as one of the first batch of Guangdong International Medical Service Pilot Hospitals (25 hospitals province-wide)

About the Department

Cardiovascular Surgery was founded in 1958 and is the core department of the largest cardiovascular disease diagnosis-and-treatment center in South China, operating under the Guangdong Provincial Cardiovascular Institute. The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and the Department of Cardiology both belong to the Institute, which is the only WHO Collaborating Center for Cardiovascular Research and Training in China and one of the pioneers of cardiovascular surgery in the country.

• Academic platform: A National Key Clinical Specialty (one of the hospital's national key clinical specialties), backed by the National Cardiovascular Regional Medical Center
• Scale: Comprises several subspecialty units — Adult Cardiac Surgery, Congenital Heart Disease Surgery, Cardiovascular Anesthesia, Cardiopulmonary Bypass, Cardiac Surgery Operating Rooms, and Cardiac Surgery ICUs I and II; 235 beds and 10 independent operating rooms (including 1 hybrid operating room)
• Team: 417 staff members, including 42 senior-title physicians, 41 holding doctorates and 34 holding master's degrees, with 4 doctoral supervisors and 12 master's supervisors
• Volume: More than 30,000 cardiopulmonary-bypass cardiovascular operations completed in total by the end of 2011; in recent years over 3,500 bypass procedures per year and over 4,000 cardiovascular operations per year
• Supporting services: A complete surgical support system including cardiovascular anesthesia, cardiopulmonary bypass and dedicated cardiac surgery ICUs

Academic Standing and Accreditation

• National Key Clinical Specialty (Cardiovascular Surgery is one of them), backed by the National Cardiovascular Regional Medical Center (2019)
• The Institute is the only WHO Collaborating Center for Cardiovascular Research and Training in China (since 1980)
• Cardiovascular Surgery has ranked No. 3 nationwide in Cardiac & Macrovascular Surgery in the Fudan Edition of the China Hospital Rankings for 10 consecutive years (per the hospital's official statement)
• Heart transplant volume among China's top three for four consecutive years, and among the world's top ten heart transplant centers; in 2020 the department was approved as a "Heart Transplant Physician Training Base" by the National Health Commission
• In 2023 the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery received the "Guangdong Provincial Government Quality Award" — the first and only medical institution in the province to do so
• Holds organ transplant licenses for heart, lung, liver and kidney; the Cardiopulmonary Bypass Unit trains perfusionists nationwide, especially across South China

Core Technologies and Signature Conditions

1. Cardiac valve surgery
   • Artificial heart valve replacement, thoracoscopic valve repair, and high-risk/complex valve surgery. The hospital performed China's first aortic valve replacement in 1975 and pioneered percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty in China in 1985
2. Coronary surgery
   • Coronary artery bypass grafting (saphenous vein grafts), including off-pump (beating-heart) bypass
3. Macrovascular (aortic) surgery — a highlight
   • Resection of thoracic aortic aneurysm with artificial vascular graft replacement and hybrid procedures; minimally invasive treatment of thoracic aortic disease (selected as a Major Construction Project in the Guangzhou High-Tech, Major and Special Clinical Technologies list for 2026–2028). In 2019 the hospital performed the world's first one-stop transfemoral TAVR + TEVAR procedure
4. Congenital heart surgery
   • Comprehensive management of complex congenital heart disease and severe congenital heart disease in infants and young children; pediatric artificial valve replacement. In 2015 the hospital performed China's first fetal heart surgery
5. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery
   • Thoracoscopic valve surgery and thoracoscopic maze surgery for atrial fibrillation. In 2019 the hospital performed China's first AI + 5G remote minimally invasive cardiac surgery and China's first minimally invasive cardiac surgery in a pregnant patient
6. Arrhythmia surgery
   • Thoracoscopic maze surgery for atrial fibrillation and related conditions
7. Heart failure, heart transplantation and ventricular assist
   • Ventricular assist device (artificial heart) implantation, heart and heart-lung transplantation. In 2006 the hospital performed the province's first combined heart-lung transplant
8. Cardiopulmonary bypass and organ protection
   • The Bypass Unit trains perfusion professionals nationwide, especially in South China, and has trained more than 200 perfusionists for other hospitals; also offers ECMO and related techniques
9. A pioneering tradition
   • Performed its first cardiopulmonary-bypass heart operation in 1964, and pioneered a series of nationally leading techniques including artificial heart valve replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting, pediatric artificial valve replacement, intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation, ventricular assist device implantation and heart transplantation

Expert Team

• Prof. Zhuang Jian: a nationally renowned cardiovascular surgeon and one of the department's representative figures
• Prof. Chen Jimei: cardiovascular surgeon, among the leading experts in the department
• Prof. Guo Huiming, Prof. Lu Cong and Prof. Fan Ruixin: nationally renowned cardiovascular surgeons
• Dr. Wen Shusheng, Chief Physician, MD: Director of Cardiovascular Surgery
• Dr. Huang Jinsong, Chief Physician, MD: Deputy Director of Cardiovascular Surgery
• Dr. Huang Huanlei, Chief Physician: Director of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
• Dr. Sun Tucheng: macrovascular (aortic) specialist and chief expert of the "Minimally Invasive Treatment of Thoracic Aortic Disease" project (a Guangzhou major clinical technology project)
• Additional key physicians include Dr. Wu Min (Chief Physician, Deputy Director), Dr. Liu Jing (Chief Physician, Teaching Secretary of Cardiac Surgery), Dr. Liu Jian (Associate Chief Physician, MD) and Dr. Yu Changjiang (Associate Chief Physician, Director)
• Note: Titles and roles above are based on publicly available sources; please refer to the hospital's latest official information

Suitable Conditions

• Valvular heart disease: aortic/mitral/tricuspid stenosis or regurgitation requiring valve replacement or repair (including minimally invasive thoracoscopic valve surgery)
• Coronary artery disease: requiring coronary artery bypass grafting (including off-pump/beating-heart bypass)
• Macrovascular disease: aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm (graft replacement, hybrid surgery and minimally invasive treatment)
• Congenital heart disease: atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, tetralogy of Fallot, and complex/severe congenital heart disease in infants and young children
• Atrial fibrillation (thoracoscopic maze surgery) and other arrhythmias requiring surgical treatment
• End-stage heart failure, heart transplant evaluation and ventricular assist device (artificial heart) implantation
• Heart-lung transplant evaluation

Address and Contact

• Address: No. 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
• Main switchboard: +86-20-83827812; Fax: +86-20-83827712
• Website: www.gdghospital.org.cn (English: www.gdghospital.org.cn/en)
• International medical platform: Concord Senior Medical Center (East Ward on campus; outpatient and inpatient facilities; approx. 2,500 m²)
• Campuses: Dongchuan (Zhongshan Er Road), Pingzhou (No. 58 Pingzhou Yong'an Middle Road, Nanhai District, Foshan) and Huifu

For a quick overview of the department, see the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital Cardiovascular Surgery department page.

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