Nearly 1,000 foreign doctors came to Wuhan for exchange and learning activities in a year

"Chinese doctors are the best in this field, so I came here." "The clinical diagnosis and innovation experience of Chinese colleagues is worth learning from well."... Recently, the Pediatric Surgery Department of Wuhan Union Hospital and the Urology Department of Wuhan University People's Hospital have successively welcomed foreign experts for study. According to incomplete statistics, in 2024, nearly 1,000 foreign doctors from four provincial and ministerial-level hospitals including Wuhan Tongji Hospital, Wuhan Union Hospital, Wuhan University People's Hospital, and Wuhan University Central South Hospital will come to exchange and study, covering five continents.

On the morning of March 3rd, at the "Luo Jia Urological Minimally Invasive Technology Training Class" held by the Urology Department of Wuhan University People's Hospital (Hubei Provincial People's Hospital), an expert from abroad appeared. His name was Ben Tenney, and he was an associate professor from the Urology Department of Oxford University.

What attracted Ben Tenney to participate in this training program for Chinese urologists was a series of innovative achievements in urology at Wuhan University People's Hospital. According to Professor Cheng Fan, the president of Wuhan University People's Hospital and the head of the urology department, such as the multimodal intelligent imaging fusion puncture system, can equip surgeons with an "infrared vision", enabling precise puncture of percutaneous nephroscope technology and precise positioning for tumor focal treatment; the new minimally invasive implantable prostate urethral suspension surgery system can realize "day surgery" for benign prostatic hyperplasia, with short duration, less trauma, fewer complications, and significantly reducing medical costs.

"These innovative technological achievements that integrate clinical research are all highly forward-looking and practical. We hope to strengthen cooperation with our Chinese counterparts and make progress together," said Ben Tenney.

The foreign experts who visited the "Four Major Hospitals" in Wuhan included those who came to exchange clinical experience and those who came to learn practical skills. Joshua Shott from the Department of Pediatric Surgery of the Children's Hospital affiliated to the University of Michigan Medical School spent two weeks learning at the Pediatric Surgery Department of Tongji Hospital, specializing in learning treatment methods for diseases such as congenital megacolon and biliary atresia in children.

Joshua told the Changjiang Daily reporter that due to the limitations of the number of patients and the disease spectrum, in the hospital where he practiced, they could only perform one case of pediatric congenital megacolon surgery per month on average. However, the reputation of the pediatric surgery department of Tongji Hospital for effectively treating pediatric megacolon attracted patients from all over the country. On average, they could perform 14 such surgeries per month, with shorter operation times and less bleeding, and the technology was advanced.

While attracting foreign experts to come for exchanges and learning, the research and surgical innovation achievements in the medical field of Wuhan are also continuously spreading to the world.

On February 26th this year, the "Endoscopic Sprite" artificial intelligence medical device, developed by the team led by Professor Yu Honggang, the director of the Digestive Diseases Department of Wuhan University People's Hospital, was put to trial use at the Gamberelli Hospital in Rome, Italy.

The Italian doctor Matteo, who operates the "Endoscopic Sprite", said that as the probe entered the patient's stomach, the "Endoscopic Sprite" kept giving prompts, reminding him to fill in the "blind spots" of the missed examinations. When encountering suspected high-risk lesions, the marking box of the "Endoscopic Sprite" would instantly turn red, giving an alert to remind the doctor to pay attention. "The Endoscopic Sprite is like when I was just learning to operate the endoscope, with my teacher standing behind me supervising me and constantly reminding me." After using the "Endoscopic Sprite", Dr. Matteo expressed his sincere admiration.

Based on the training of clinical doctors, Wuhan University Central South Hospital jointly established a surgical robot training center with France. A reporter from Wuhan University Central South Hospital learned that more and more French students choose to do internships at this hospital. They experience traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture in Wuhan and learn to operate surgical robots. The medical exchanges between China and France have formed a broader two-way interaction. As of August last year, the hospital has cumulatively received 189 French medical students for internships.

Source：www.wuhan.gov.cn