China's Top Departments: Orthopedics at Shanghai General Hospital

If you or a loved one is facing an orthopedic condition — a bone tumor, degenerative spine disease, joint disease, or a sports injury — the Orthopedic Clinical Medical Center of Shanghai General Hospital is one of China's earliest and most accomplished orthopedic centers.

Founded in the early years after the liberation of China by Professor Ren Tinggui, one of the founding fathers of surgery and orthopedics in China, it is one of the earliest established orthopedic departments in the country. The hospital itself was founded in 1864 as "Shanghai General Hospital" — then the largest Western-medicine hospital in China — and became one of China's first Class-A tertiary general hospitals in 1992.

The center is organized into five subspecialties — Spine Surgery, Bone Tumor Surgery, Sports Medicine, Joint Surgery, and Orthopedic Trauma — and ranks among the national leaders in degenerative spine disease, resection and reconstruction of complex bone tumors, minimally invasive joint replacement, and repair of musculoskeletal injuries.

At Medora, we help international patients navigate Shanghai General Hospital's orthopedic team. Here's what you need to know.

Academic Platforms

• Shanghai Institute of Bone Tumors (affiliated institution)
• Shanghai Bone Tumor Specialty Data Platform
• Shanghai Songjiang District Community Bone Disease Prevention Platform
• Shanghai Health Sector "Youth May Fourth Medal" Collective
• Doctoral and master's degree-granting site and postdoctoral research station of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Ministry of Health standardized training base for residents and specialists

Scale

Subspecialty Highlights

Bone Tumor Surgery

Founded by the prominent orthopedic expert Professor Cai Zhengdong, it is one of China's foremost centers for bone and soft-tissue tumors and complex bone disease.

• Clinical focus: surgical resection and reconstruction of malignant bone tumors (extremities, pelvis/sacrum, spine); limb-salvage treatment of malignant bone tumors in children; combined/minimally invasive treatment of bone metastases; chemotherapy and new-drug clinical trials for advanced sarcomas — case volumes and outcomes at internationally advanced levels
• Key directions: new techniques for precise resection and reconstruction, new limb-salvage devices for children, precision pharmacotherapy systems for bone tumors, novel regimens for advanced sarcoma
• Equipment: navigation, intraoperative CT, spine surgical robots

Spine Surgery

• Specializes in degenerative spine disease, spinal tumors, and spinal infection
• Nationally advanced in cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, ossification of the cervical/thoracic ligamentum flavum, spinal trauma, and spinal deformity
• Standardized diagnosis and treatment aligned with international practice
• Past five years: 20+ NSFC and provincial/ministerial grants, 50+ clinical research papers

Joint Surgery

• 1,000+ surgeries per year; Grade III–IV procedures over 95%; minimally invasive surgery nearly 60%
• Dedicated joint-surgery expert clinics, joint-pain specialty clinic, and foot-and-ankle specialty clinic
• Signature techniques: minimally invasive knee-preserving surgery (UKA, HTO, DFO); minimally invasive meniscus and ligament surgery; primary and revision hip, knee, and shoulder arthroplasty; minimally invasive rotator-cuff repair and shoulder stabilization; minimally invasive ankle ligament and osteochondral treatment
• Close academic exchanges with Mayo Clinic, UCLA, and other renowned institutions

Sports Medicine

• Acute and chronic osteoarticular injuries of the musculoskeletal system
• Emphasis on minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery — routine and reconstructive procedures at internationally advanced or nationally leading levels
• Runs an "exercise prescription" clinic as part of the nationwide "Active Health" initiative
• 5 NSFC grants; 140+ papers published

Orthopedic Trauma

• Complex trauma care; open/closed injuries of limb joints; bone infection, non-union, digital replantation; severe bone and soft-tissue defects
• Signature emphasis on minimally invasive, precise treatment and early rehabilitation
• One of China's foremost bone and soft-tissue repair-and-reconstruction centers
• Regionally advanced in early emergency care of limb amputation injuries, limb salvage, wound repair, and bone-transport reconstruction
• Complex cases referred from across the country; 36 open beds and 7 physicians

Core Strengths & Achievements

• Pediatric osteosarcoma limb salvage: 5-year survival rate exceeds 70%, limb-salvage rate exceeds 80%
• Osteosarcoma mechanistic research: first to propose an osteosarcoma molecular subtype, published in Nature Communications; targeted-therapy clinical trials for poorest-prognosis patients underway
• Pelvis/sacrum tumor resection and reconstruction: co-designed prosthetic implants achieving clinical translation, helping patients regain limb length and walking ability
• Biomaterial research: National Key R&D Program project developing biomaterials that reduce local recurrence of osteosarcoma
• Public-welfare fund: co-established the "Soong Ching Ling Foundation – Gongji Bone Cancer Fund"
• Hospital level (2025): 1,600+ robotic surgeries performed during the year

Research & Honors

• Past five years: led a National Key R&D Program project and 40+ NSFC grants
• 10+ major awards: First Prize for Science and Technology Progress of the Ministry of Education, First Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, First Prize of the Shanghai Medical Science and Technology Award, Second Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award; 300+ papers
• 30+ talent-program awards (Shanghai Leading Talent, Shanghai Oriental Talent, etc.); 20 national-level academic appointments
• Led 30+ domestic multicenter clinical studies; guided three innovative drugs/devices to market; technology transfer totaling nearly RMB 3 million
• In 2025: built the world's largest osteosarcoma cohort and led the establishment of the first municipal demonstration bone-tumor cohort

Expert Team

Address

• North Campus (Hongkou): No. 85 Wujin Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai
• South Campus (Songjiang): No. 650 Xinsongjiang Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai

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 Shanghai General Hospital's Orthopedics Department, contact Medora for personalized support.