China's Top Departments: General Surgery at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

If you or a loved one needs surgery — for gastrointestinal cancer, pancreatic disease, liver transplantation, or a procedure best done minimally invasively — the Department of General Surgery at Ruijin Hospital is among the most historic and accomplished surgical centers in China.

The department is a key discipline of Shanghai Municipality and a national "211 Project" key discipline. It serves as a training center for master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral researchers in surgery, and comprises:

• Outpatient and emergency surgery services
• 10 inpatient wards with nearly 400 beds
• The Shanghai Clinical Medical Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery
• The Ruijin Organ Transplantation Center
• The Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery
• A surgical teaching and research office
• A surgical intensive care unit

Specialized groups cover gastrointestinal cancer, hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases, portal hypertension, organ transplantation, minimally invasive surgery, vascular surgery, surgical critical care, and breast & endocrine surgery.

It was ranked No. 1 nationally in general surgery by Haodf.com in 2025.

At Medora, we help international patients navigate Ruijin's surgical team. Here's what you need to know.

Academic Standing & Accreditation

• Key discipline of Shanghai Municipality; national "211 Project" key discipline
• Ranked No. 1 nationally in general surgery (Haodf.com 2025)
• Home of the Shanghai Clinical Medical Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery and the Ruijin Organ Transplantation Center
• One of the earliest general surgery specialties in China; among the first batch of standardized specialist training bases of the National Health Commission
• Multiple members and chairs of national academic societies of surgery
• Faculty includes 1 Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and 3 Fellows of the American College of Surgeons

Expert Team

The department has 8 doctoral supervisors and 10 master's supervisors, having trained 106 master's students and 29 doctoral students, forming a comprehensive surgical team excelling in gastrointestinal oncology, severe acute pancreatitis, organ transplantation, and minimally invasive surgery.

Core Strengths & Signature Technologies

1. Severe Acute Pancreatitis (SAP)

• Advocated early surgical intervention as early as 1985
• Pioneered CT-based severity grading, "individualized treatment plans," and short-term blood filtration therapy in China
• Achieving a cure rate of 80% — among the best in the country

2. Organ Transplantation

• Performed China's first liver transplant and first heart transplant in 1978
• Since 2002, the Organ Transplantation Center has completed over 120 liver transplants (including split-liver, piggyback, and combined liver-kidney transplants)
• Asia's first 7-organ abdominal cluster transplant

3. Minimally Invasive (Laparoscopic) Surgery

• A Shanghai Clinical Medical Center
• Performed the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in East China in 1991
• China's first laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer
• Over 10,000 cases of 40+ laparoscopic procedures to date
• Hosted the 1999 ELSA annual meeting; established China's first laparoscopic surgery website and training center, training nearly 500 laparoscopic surgeons nationwide

4. Robotic Pancreatic Surgery

• Equipped with the da Vinci surgical system and intraoperative radiotherapy
• Over 400 robotic pancreatic procedures completed — ranked No. 1 in China and No. 2 worldwide
• About 500 pancreatic operations and 200 pancreaticoduodenectomies performed annually

5. Gastrointestinal Tumor Surgery

• Standardized radical resection and minimally invasive treatment for gastric and colorectal cancer
• Leading academic position in China

Scale & Clinical Volume

Research

• In the past 5 years: 66 master's students and 19 doctoral students trained
• 100+ SCI-indexed papers and 300+ core journal papers published
• Co-authored dozens of surgical textbooks and nearly 10 national/industry guidelines
• 16 national-level research grants since 2008 (total funding > RMB 10 million)
• Awards include the National Science & Technology Progress Award (Second Class, 2010), the Chinese Medical Association Science & Technology Award (First Class, 2006), and Shanghai Science & Technology Progress Awards (First Class, 2009, 2013)

Location & Contact

Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine No. 197 Ruijin Er Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai 200025, China

• Hospital switchboard: +86-21-64370045

Shanghai is China's largest city with two international airports (Pudong PVG and Hongqiao SHA), excellent global connectivity, and world-class hospitality infrastructure.

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This guide is prepared for an international audience. If you need assistance with medical consultation, appointment booking, or travel arrangements to Ruijin Hospital's General Surgery Department, contact Medora for personalized support.