People's Liberation Army 254 Hospital

Truth-seeking, Pragmatism, and Innovative Development

-- Interview with the Soaring Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army

Located at No.60 Huangwei Road in Hebei District by the Bohai Bay in Tianjin, the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army was founded in 1949. Its predecessor was the "North China Military Region General Hospital" and the "Clinical College of the First Medical University". In 1954, it was named as the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army. The hospital currently has 38 departments, 46 specialties, and 750 beds available. It is an affiliated hospital of the Nankai University School of Medicine and a teaching hospital for six medical schools including the Second Military Medical University, Third Military Medical University, Bethune Military Medical College, Armed Police Force Medical College, and Nankai University School of Medicine. Approved by the National Health Department, it is also one of the key national hospitals monitoring adverse drug reactions and a "Clinical Drug Testing Institution" approved by the National Food and Drug Administration. It is a large comprehensive tertiary digital hospital integrating medical care, education, research, and preventive healthcare.

The hospital houses a clinical pharmacology base for the entire army, the Beijing Military Region Reproductive Health Technology Center, and key disciplines such as gastroenterology, urology, and orthopedics under the Beijing Military Region. It has three master’s degree authorization points in internal medicine, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology. There are more than 100 senior technical personnel, 24 professors, and 60 individuals with master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral degrees. The hospital owns advanced domestic medical equipment such as a 56-channel electrophysiological workstation, INONVA3100 digital subtraction system, spiral CT, ECT, surgical navigation system, magnetic resonance imaging, Dornier lithotripter, fully automatic biochemical analyzer, digital color ultrasound, tumor microwave therapy device, linear accelerator, CR (digital X-ray machine), etc. In recent years, it has won 75 scientific and technological progress awards, including one national science and technology progress award, 15 military science and technology progress second-class or above results, 20 national patents, filled 21 technical gaps in Tianjin, published 1350 academic papers, and released 8 monographs.

The hospital strongly advocates "patient-centered" full-process quality service and was the first in the entire army to propose the "three-zero" service concept of zero defect in nursing quality, zero distance in doctor-patient relationship, and zero obstacle in medical security. It has been rated multiple times by the Beijing Military Region as an "advanced hospital during the Tenth Five-Year Plan", "outstanding unit serving soldiers", and "unit excelling in implementing the Double Ninth Project." In 2004, it was rated by the Chinese Medical Management Society as one of the first batch of "demonstration hospitals trusted by the people", "designated hospital for traffic accidents in Tianjin", and one of the first designated medical insurance hospitals in Tianjin.

Talent is the Fundamental for Sustainable Development

The Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army is a master's degree authorization unit established by the Ministry of Education under the Nankai University School of Medicine and is a key specialty of the Beijing Military Region. After several generations of diligent work by senior, middle-aged, and young physicians, the center has developed into a modern urological diagnosis and treatment center with a strong team of experts, solid technical strength, and excellent instrument equipment, leading in North China and even nationwide.

What is the reason behind its rapid development?

"Those who undertake great undertakings must be people-oriented," talent is the foundation of establishing a hospital and a positive factor in forming a high-quality team.

The expert team of the Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army is a problem-solving team composed of master's graduates and senior title physicians. Among them, there are two professors, two associate professors, and three master's supervisors. Together with specially invited experts domestically and internationally, they form a powerful expert resource pool.

When talking about talent construction, Dean Zhai Shuyue said excitedly, "Competition in the medical market is competition for talent and technology. In recent years, we have adhered to being people-oriented, prioritizing science and technology, and following the path of science and technology to strengthen the hospital. We have introduced scientific mechanisms and top talents with an open mindset to highlight characteristic projects and promote specialized construction. The hospital has entered a fast track of development characterized by tiered talent cultivation, distinctive specialized construction, healthy economic income, and standardized hospital construction."

Currently, the department has gathered well-known urological experts such as Li Yueming, Li YuKui, Li Boquan, and Wang Jun, forming a strong team of old, middle-aged, and young physicians led by Director Li Yueming, continuously developing and engaging in clinical research and exploration in advanced fields of urology.

High-precision Equipment Achieves Characteristic Medical Care

To provide better services to officers and civilians, the Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army follows the principle of advanced rationality, sustainable development potential, and meeting the needs of sustainable development in infrastructure and hardware construction, advancing construction according to modern specialty standards, and achieving standardization, normalization, and advancement. It has formed professional departments in areas such as kidney transplantation center, German Dornier lithotripsy center, urological tumor treatment center, prostate disease treatment center, urinary reproductive infection center, male infertility treatment center, and comprehensive treatment center, and has successively purchased advanced cutting-edge equipment instruments needed for diagnosis and treatment both domestically and internationally.

The center is equipped with Japanese OLYMPUS cystoscopes, Japanese OLYMPUS flexible ureteroscopes, Japanese OLYMPUS rigid ureteroscopes, Japanese OLYMPUS percutaneous nephroscopes, American "Gesait" holmium laser lithotripsy systems, German DORNIER dual-position lithotripters, German STORZ laparoscopes, South Korean 8000C three-dimensional color ultrasounds, British Gyrus super pulse plasma vaporization resection scopes, minimally invasive ablation prostate treatment systems, prostate pulse temperature control treatment instruments, extracorporeal shortwave electric field hyperthermia systems, ultra-luxury urodynamics analyzers, sexual function rehabilitation treatment instruments, and other high-tech medical devices, providing solid guarantees for high-standard medical care.

In non-invasive or minimally invasive treatments for urinary stones, renal cysts, benign prostatic hyperplasia, bladder tumors, bladder neck fibrosis, urological tumors, stones, obstructions, infections, and prostate diseases, it keeps up with the forefront of domestic and international medical developments.

The Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army was among the first in the city to carry out allogeneic kidney transplantation, accumulating rich clinical experience. By adopting advanced matching techniques and postoperative drug concentration monitoring, it significantly improved the survival quality of kidney transplant patients. In the diagnosis and treatment of hematuria, difficulty in urination, urinary incontinence, congenital malformations of the urinary system, and other diseases, it can perform adrenal surgery for treating Cushing's syndrome, primary hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytoma; kidney transplant surgery; polycystic kidney surgery, percutaneous treatment of renal cysts; renal artery embolization and effective therapeutic nephrectomy for treating renal cancer; total cystectomy, cystoplasty, prostatectomy; diagnosis and treatment of female stress urinary incontinence; correction of bladder exstrophy; and congenital malformation surgery of the urinary system, keeping up with the forefront of domestic and international medicine. In recent years, this specialty has won multiple awards from within and outside the military and filled gaps in Tianjin's medical technology, having a significant influence in the academic circles of the Beijing Military Region and Tianjin.

German Dornier Lithotripsy Center

The diagnosis, treatment, and research of urinary stones have always been a focus of development for the Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army. The center was the first to introduce the world-leading German Dornier Compact Delta lithotripter, which is the top product of the Compact family based on the gold standard DoL "King" type urological workstation. It features dual X-ray and ultrasound positioning systems, along with a C-arm and a mobile, adjustable shock wave generator, meeting all lithotripsy needs. The system is fully computer-controlled, with screen display, accurate positioning, precise controllable shock energy, ensuring safety and no damage to the body, thoroughly crushing stones while preserving kidneys. This machine has a heart rate monitoring system, making it suitable for elderly or cardiac patients. It shows good effects on kidney, ureter, bladder, and urethral stones. Additionally, it has special systems for treating bone spurs, shoulder periarthritis, tennis elbow, and other conditions.

Minimally Invasive Vaporization Electroresection

The transurethral vaporization electroresection of the prostate (TVP) carried out by the Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army is a new method developed in recent years based on the transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Recognized domestically and internationally as the golden standard for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), TVP retains the advantages of TURP such as minimal invasiveness, safety, quick recovery, and relatively low cost, while solving the two major problems of bleeding and transurethral resection syndrome (TURS) that TURP finds difficult to overcome. It uses the thermal effect and electrical condensation effect of high-frequency current, allowing the special vaporization cutting electrode to cut and vaporize tissue simultaneously, creating a 1-3mm thick coagulation layer. It can quickly remove prostate tissue while minimizing intraoperative bleeding and fluid absorption commonly seen in TURP (which could lead to fatal TURS), efficiently vaporizing and removing enlarged prostate tissue in the shortest time possible, reducing collateral damage, lowering complications, improving treatment efficiency, truly conforming to endoscopic minimally invasive treatment, and achieving ideal treatment outcomes.

Laparoscopic Surgery

Traditional surgical treatments involve making a large incision in the skin to operate, but the treatment effect is not proportional to the size of the wound. However, in the laparoscopic surgeries performed at the Urology Center of the 254th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, doctors only need to make three small holes about 1 centimeter each in the patient's abdomen, insert instruments, and skillfully operate through a television monitor without seeing a single drop of blood during the operation. Due to its advantages of less damage to the human body, less bleeding, lighter postoperative pain, faster recovery, aesthetically pleasing surgical appearance, fewer complications, and shorter hospital stays, laparoscopic surgery has gradually become more widely understood and accepted by patients. Nowadays, laparoscopic technology has been applied in various aspects of urology and male reproductive surgery, becoming a boon for patients with kidney cysts, kidney tumors, varicocele, etc.