China's Top Departments: Cataract at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou)

For readers in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and worldwide: if you or a loved one is facing cataract — age-related cataract, congenital cataract in children under two, or complex cases such as hard-nucleus cataract, traumatic cataract, cataract after glaucoma surgery, cataract with uveitis or high myopia, or lens/IOL dislocation — the Department of Cataract at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (ZOC) in Guangzhou is one of the most experienced and academically accomplished cataract centers in China.

About the Hospital

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (ZOC), also known as the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, is China's largest public eye hospital and the only eye specialty hospital directly administered by the National Health Commission. Its origins trace back to 1835, when the Ophthalmic Hospital — China's earliest Western-style hospital — was founded; in 1965, Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu established the first university-affiliated eye hospital in China; in 1995 it became the first tertiary Grade-A eye hospital in the country. In the Fudan Edition of the 2023 China Hospital Rankings, the Center ranks No. 1 nationally in ophthalmology (specialty composite ranking) with an overall grade of A+, and has ranked first in ophthalmology on China's hospital specialty reputation list for many consecutive years.

• Tier: Tertiary Grade-A specialty hospital (ophthalmology); Fudan 2023 — No. 1 nationally in ophthalmology, overall A+
• Platforms: Host of the State Key Laboratory of Eye Diseases — the only national key laboratory in ophthalmology in China — and a first-batch National Key Discipline in ophthalmology; China's only WHO Collaborating Center for Eye Health and Vision; host of the only international medical academic organization headquartered in China (the permanent headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, APAO); in 2024 the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao University Ophthalmology Alliance and the International Eye Medical Center were inaugurated at the Center
• Research impact: 11 National Science and Technology Awards since 1978; in 2016 the Center published in Nature the first in-situ regeneration of a functional lens from endogenous stem cells to treat congenital cataract, selected by Nature Medicine as one of the 8 major breakthroughs in life sciences of 2016 (the first such selection led by a Chinese scientist team); other world-class achievements include an ophthalmic AI system (Nature Medicine), myopia prevention in children (JAMA) and a new glaucoma prevention strategy (Lancet)
• Scale: about 1,388 staff and about 508 authorized beds (public sources); in 2018, over 1.13 million outpatient visits, more than 78,000 surgeries and an average length of stay of 1.5 days
• International services: The Center offers an International Medical Service and a Special Needs (premium) Clinic, with an English website and an international liaison email ([email protected]). As a WHO Collaborating Center, it has long supported China's medical-aid-abroad strategy and built the first modern eye center in the Maldives, extending its international reach worldwide

About the Department

The Department of Cataract is one of the earliest-established specialties at ZOC, founded in 1965 by Professor Mao Wenshu and Academician Li Shaozhen — the first academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Chinese ophthalmology. Its parent department, Ophthalmology, is a National Key Clinical Specialty, and the Cataract specialty is a Guangdong Provincial Medical Key Specialty. The department has long been devoted to the clinical care and cutting-edge research of cataract, and leads nationally — and in some areas internationally — in complex cataract, congenital cataract and lens regeneration.

• Director: Professor Wu Mingxing (MD, Chief Physician, doctoral supervisor; Director of the Cataract Center and Deputy Director of the Cataract Laboratory)
• Academic leader: Professor Liu Yizhi (Director of ZOC and President of the Eye Hospital; academic leader of Cataract; Second-Class Professor, First-Class Chief Physician, doctoral supervisor, and recipient of a State Council Special Allowance)
• Scope: Surgery and comprehensive treatment of all types of cataract and lens-related diseases

Academic Standing and Accreditations

• A core subspecialty of the National Key Clinical Specialty (Ophthalmology)
• Guangdong Provincial Medical Key Specialty (Cataract)
• No. 1 in ophthalmology nationwide: the Center ranks No. 1 in the Fudan 2023 China Hospital Rankings ophthalmology specialty composite ranking, overall grade A+
• National research platform: host of the State Key Laboratory of Eye Diseases — the only national key laboratory in ophthalmology in China
• International standing: China's only WHO Collaborating Center for Eye Health and Vision, home of the APAO permanent headquarters, and the International Eye Medical Center
• Academic contribution: the original congenital-cataract lens-regeneration work was published in Nature and selected by Nature Medicine as one of the 8 major breakthroughs in life sciences of 2016

Core Technologies and Signature Treatments

1. Phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation (Phaco + IOL) — The Center is one of the earliest in China to perform phacoemulsification and continues to innovate techniques. Torsional-mode phacoemulsification: Professor Liu Yizhi performed the world's first clinical application in 2006 and published the world's first paper on the technique; it has been incorporated into five international ophthalmology textbooks in the US and UK, improving surgical efficiency and safety. Bimanual micro-incision phacoemulsification and small-incision / sutureless small-incision phacoemulsification were pioneered in China; other techniques include capsular tension ring implantation
2. Congenital cataract and lens regeneration (world-leading breakthrough) — To address the global challenge that children under two are unsuitable for IOL implantation, the team discovered endogenous epithelial stem cells in the lens and achieved the world's first in-situ regeneration of a functional lens, successfully applied to treat congenital cataract (Nature, 2016). They created an ultra-minimally invasive cataract procedure: the intracapsular capsulorhexis is only 1–1.5 mm (versus 6 mm conventionally), achieving minimally invasive access from surface to interior while preserving the regenerative microenvironment
3. Complex and difficult cataract surgery — Hard-nucleus cataract, traumatic cataract, post-glaucoma-surgery cataract, cataract with uveitis, and cataract with high myopia; reduction and fixation of lens dislocation and IOL dislocation; primary/secondary IOL implantation and IOL fixation
4. Ophthalmic AI and precision diagnosis — Professor Lin Haotian's team built an ophthalmic AI application system: the world's first digital mask (Nature Medicine 2022) and the world's first intelligent visual-function screening system for infants (Nature Medicine 2023), used for early eye-disease screening and diagnosis
5. Surgical volume and efficiency — Professor Liu Yizhi has operated on nearly 200,000 cataract patients from China and abroad; in 2018 the Center performed more than 78,000 surgeries with an average length of stay of 1.5 days

Expert Team

• Prof. Liu Yizhi: Director of ZOC and President of the Eye Hospital, academic leader of Cataract; skilled in all types of phacoemulsification with IOL implantation, especially complex cases such as congenital cataract, lens dislocation, hard-nucleus cataract, and cataract after glaucoma surgery / with uveitis / traumatic cataract; pioneered phacoemulsification in China and torsional-mode phacoemulsification internationally
• Prof. Lin Haotian: phacoemulsification with IOL implantation, with particular expertise in the prevention and treatment of congenital cataract and in medical big data and AI translation
• Prof. Wu Mingxing: Director of the Cataract Center; over 30 years in clinical ophthalmology and research, focusing on cataract and lens-related diseases; skilled in phacoemulsification with IOL implantation, especially hard-nucleus, complicated and congenital cataract and lens/IOL dislocation, traumatic cataract
• Prof. Chen Weirong: one of the earliest physicians in China to perform phacoemulsification cataract surgery; expert in the diagnosis and treatment of all cataracts, especially congenital, hard-nucleus, post-glaucoma-surgery and uveitis-associated complex cataracts
• Prof. Zheng Danying: diagnosis and treatment of cataract and lens-related difficult diseases; small-incision phacoemulsification, extracapsular cataract extraction, primary/secondary IOL implantation and IOL fixation
• Other experts: Dr. Cheng Bing (Chief Physician), Prof. Liu Xialin, Prof. Luo Lixia, Dr. Zhang Xinyu (Chief Physician), Dr. Huang Shengsong (Chief Physician), Dr. Chen Hui (Chief Physician), Dr. Huang Wenyong (Chief Physician), among others

Conditions Treated (reference for international patients)

• All types of cataract (age-related/senile cataract)
• Congenital cataract (including children under two; advanced options such as endogenous-stem-cell lens regeneration can be assessed)
• Complex/difficult cataract: hard-nucleus cataract, traumatic cataract, post-glaucoma-surgery cataract, cataract with uveitis, cataract with high myopia
• Lens dislocation and intraocular lens (IOL) dislocation
• Patients seeking minimally invasive / small-incision phacoemulsification with IOL implantation and rapid recovery

Address and Contact

• Ouzhuang Campus (main): No. 54 Xianlie South Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong (postcode 510060) — next to Ouzhuang Station on Guangzhou Metro Lines 5 and 6
• Zhujiang New Town Campus: No. 7 Jinsui Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong (postcode 510623)
• Switchboard: 020-66607666; English-line tel: 0086-20-87330000
• Website: www.gzzoc.org.cn (English: www.gzzoc.org.cn/en)
• International / premium service email: [email protected]

For more top eye departments in China, see our spotlights on ophthalmology at Shanghai First People's Hospital and ophthalmology & ENT at the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University.

This information is compiled from the official website of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (including its English site) and public reports. It is for reference only; the hospital's latest official information shall prevail.