China's Top Departments: Urology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University

If you or a loved one is facing complex or recurrent kidney stones, a urologic tumor, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, the Department of Urology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University is one of China's leading destinations for minimally invasive urology. The hospital itself is China's National Center for Respiratory Medicine, led by Academician Zhong Nanshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and was rated A+++ in the Fudan University "2023 China Hospital Rankings" — the top tier of hospitals nationwide.

Hospital Overview

The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Chinese abbreviation "Guangyi Yiyuan" / 广医一院) is a large public Grade 3A general hospital integrating medical care, teaching, research, healthcare, rehabilitation, and emergency services. Founded in 1903 (originally the "Sino-French Taomei Hospital"), it serves as the host institution of China's National Center for Respiratory Medicine and is home to the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease and the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, led by Academician Zhong Nanshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

In the Fudan University "2023 China Hospital Rankings" (Fudan version), the hospital was rated A+++, placing it in the top tier of hospitals nationwide.

The hospital has more than 1,500 beds and 40 clinical departments, spread across several campuses in central Guangzhou:

• Dantansha Campus (National Center for Respiratory Medicine): 28 Qiaozhong Middle Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou
• Yanjiang Campus: 151 Yanjiang West Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
• Haiyin Campus: 1 Kangda Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou

Guangzhou is the transport hub of South China, easily reached via Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the high-speed rail network. The Yanjiang Campus sits on the west side of Haizhu Square by the Pearl River, in a prime downtown location.

Department Overview

The Department of Urology is a National Key Clinical Specialty and a provincial key discipline of the hospital, with minimally invasive surgery as its core strength. It established China's first Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, which has since become one of the largest, best-equipped, and most advanced centers of its kind in the country, as well as a key national training base for endourology and laparoscopic surgery.

In 1984, the department was the first in China to introduce percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) from abroad and promote it nationwide. A national endoscopy training base was established in 2007, and in 2008 the department became one of China's first examination centers for endoscopic techniques (respiratory and urology). It also hosts the Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Urology.

Academic Standing & Accreditations

• National Key Clinical Specialty (Urology)
• Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urology
• Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urological Minimally Invasive Surgical Robots and Intelligent Equipment
• Nominated in the Fudan "2023 China Hospital Specialty Reputation Rankings" (Urology)
• Home to the International Alliance of Urolithiasis (IAU), founded in 2012 under the leadership of Prof. Zeng Guohua; with 907 members from 114 countries, it is the world's largest academic organization in the field of urinary stone disease

Core Technologies & Signature Conditions

• Mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-PCNL): an internationally leading technique system established by Prof. Zeng Guohua's team, now the standard approach for PCNL in China
• Multi-channel PCNL: for complex multiple or staghorn kidney stones, enabling complete stone clearance in a single procedure, with higher stone-free rates, fewer operations, and shorter hospital stays
• Flexible ureteroscopy lithotripsy: featuring a self-developed, world's-thinnest single-use digital flexible ureteroscope and standardized technique protocols
• Active stone-expulsion technology: featuring the world's first self-developed extracorporeal physical vibration lithotripter for active stone expulsion
• Laparoscopic urological surgery: for adrenal tumors, renal cysts, radical nephrectomy, radical cystectomy with orthotopic neobladder, and more
• Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) / GreenLight laser prostate treatment
• One-stage bladder-mucosa urethroplasty for pediatric hypospadias
• da Vinci robot-assisted surgery (supported by the Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urological Minimally Invasive Surgical Robots and Intelligent Equipment)

Signature conditions include urinary stones (especially complex, staghorn, multiple, and recurrent stones), urological tumors (kidney, bladder, adrenal, and prostate cancers), benign prostatic hyperplasia, ureteral stricture (UPJO), and pediatric hypospadias.

Expert Team

Prof. Zeng Guohua

Level-2 Professor, Chief Physician, and doctoral supervisor; Vice President of the hospital and academic leader of the Department of Urology; Director of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urology and the Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Urological Minimally Invasive Surgical Robots and Intelligent Equipment; recipient of the State Council Special Government Allowance. He serves as President and Secretary-General of the International Alliance of Urolithiasis (IAU), Standing Committee Member and Deputy Head of the Stone Group of the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Vice President of the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, former Chairman of the Urology Branch of the Guangdong Medical Association, and Chairman of the Urology Branch of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association. He is an editorial board member of BJU International and Urolithiasis, and a visiting professor at the National University Hospital of Singapore, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Hospital (Italy), and Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (North Macedonia).

Prof. Zeng has devoted 33 years to the clinical care, teaching, research, and translation of urinary stone disease, having performed nearly 10,000 PCNL procedures. He has published 152 SCI papers and 7 Chinese/English monographs, and holds 15 invention patents (10 in China, 3 in the US, 2 in Europe). He has led the formulation of 4 international clinical guidelines and 2 global expert consensuses on urolithiasis, and has supervised 7 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects. He has delivered invited lectures and live surgical demonstrations at 74 international conferences across 40 countries, was the first Asian invited to perform live surgery at the European Association of Urology Section of Urolithiasis annual meeting, and has trained 173 urologists from nearly 50 countries. His honors include the 2020 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress First Prize (ranked first), the Wu Jieping Urology Medical Award, the Chinese Medical Association Urology Branch Diamond Award, and the title of Guangdong Provincial Leading Medical Talent.

Dr. Liu Yongda

Chief Physician and Director of the Department of Urology, a senior expert in multi-channel PCNL.

Suitable Conditions

• Complex, multiple, staghorn, or recurrent kidney and ureteral stones
• Urological tumors (kidney, bladder, adrenal, and prostate cancers)
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• Ureteral stricture (ureteropelvic junction obstruction, UPJO)
• Pediatric hypospadias and other congenital urogenital malformations

Address & Contact

• Dantansha Campus (National Center for Respiratory Medicine): 28 Qiaozhong Middle Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou
• Yanjiang Campus: 151 Yanjiang West Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
• Haiyin Campus: 1 Kangda Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou
• Tel: +86 20 83062114
• Website: https://ncrm.gyfyy.com (official site of the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, including the Urology "tubeless minimally invasive technique" section)

For a quick overview of the department, see the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University Urology department page.

Note: This guide is compiled from the hospital's official website, the Guangzhou Medical University website, the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission, and public media. It is for international readers' reference only; please confirm details with official hospital sources.

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