17 December 2024 (Last updated: 17 Dec 2024 14:51)
Through a collaboration with the JHSE and previous visits by various BSSH members, including past Presidents (Jonathan Hobby and Dai Newington), we were invited by the Association of Chinese Hand Surgeons to run a Research Workshop at the Association of Chinese Hand Surgeons annual meeting in Taiyuan. We also arranged to visit the Beijing Ji ShuiTan National Orthopaedic Hospital in Beijing.
The team comprised Jonathan Hobby, Paul Stirling, Jane McEachan and Wee Lam. Jonathan, Paul and Jane arrived in Beijing and spent the next few days being shown around the city by some of the surgeons from the Ji Shuitan Hospital. We toured part of China’s Great Wall, and visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven. (Picture)
Perhaps the most striking aspect of these historic places was the contrast to the cityscape; Beijing has undergone enormous transformation over the last few decades to a steel, glass and concrete city with massive infrastructure.
Evenings were spent in the company of the hand surgeons from Ji Shuitan Hospital. We ate in private dining rooms with large round tables, each with a ‘lazy susan’ on which dishes were served. The dinner conversations centred around the similarities and differences of our experiences, and we caught a glimpse into the culture of the Chinese surgeons, whose discourse and humour were delightful – much the same as a night out with friends.
After being joined by Wee Lam, we ate in a Mongolian restaurant chosen by one of the surgeons with Mongolian heritage and were entertained by Mongolian singers and dancers. The dinner was graciously hosted by the Chief of Hand Surgery, Professor Chen Shanlin. I was also delighted to meet Bo Liu, one of the JHSE’s Editorial Board members, and we discussed a few projects between courses! We were then expected to sing for the group – Jonathan took place by storm with an acapella version of ‘Sweet Caroline’, then sang along as Paul and I settled for ‘Flower of Scotland’ - the only thing we both knew the words for, and killed it. (Picture)
On the fourth day, we visited the Ji Shuitan National Orthopaedic Centre. This is one of the largest Hand Surgery centres in China and probably the world, with an international reputation for its clinical and academic work under the leadership of Professor Chen. The team hosted a special symposium for us where they presented an overview of their work, which pretty much illustrated the history of hand surgery in China; such was their level of influence over the last century. It was, for me, a great lesson. The simultaneous development of a speciality in a culture previously closed to the West, with parallels to our history, but with a different collection of pioneers. Many of the junior (and senior) surgeons presented their work to us, keen for comment and input from an Editor’s perspective. This was particularly sobering for me because the experience of these specialist surgeons was so far beyond my own – they have taken subspecialty provision very seriously and, serving a population of 40 million in Beijing alone, have a unique experience of large numbers of relatively rare conditions. They have also taken robotic and AI hand surgery to a world-class level, which had resulted in three most cited and Editor’s best paper publications that were presented at the recent FESSH congress. The hand unit also had a research lab attached to it, where 3D modelling of a very high level of sophistication and surgical models were available to assist in their work. (Picture)
In the afternoon, the four of us then took a bullet train to Taiyuan accompanied by Professor Chen. Taiyuan is a city west of Beijing of around 5 million of historical significance and a civilisation dating back to 500 BC, giving it economic and military importance. We ate again in a private dining room with surgeons from Shanghai and Beijing, again sharing seemingly with friends rather than strangers. The next day, we delivered our workshop on research methodology, with short lectures and then small group workshops to develop research ideas and plan methodology. Picture. Professor Tian Wen, President-elect of the Association of Chinese Hand Surgeons, opened the session with a very encouraging word to the participants. Professor Tain was instrumental in us coming to share our knowledge about research methodology, having kickstarted the discussion in 2019. He has a tremendous vision to see the younger generation of Chinese hand surgeons rising up and publishing regularly on the world stage. This was an intensive few hours, but also very rewarding. Jonathan and Wee delivered two lectures at the main conference on scaphoid fractures and outcome assessments in Children’s hand surgery, respectively.
On the last evening in Taiyuan, we had the privilege of dining with Professor Tian and also meeting the current President of the Chinese Association of Hand Surgeons, Professor Lao Jie. By now, all of us feel we are in the company of old friends whom we have known for years. Professor Tian Wen warmly welcomes us back again in the coming years. After many toasts, the evening came to an end, and after a day of local sightseeing, we made our way back to Beijing for the flight home.
Overall, I was impressed by just how easy it was to communicate and share ideas and stories with our Chinese colleagues. Hand surgery makes us all part of the same family, it seems, and I value enormously the friendships we created over the week in China, particularly with the surgeons from the National Treatment Centre.
We would like to thank the surgeons of JST Hospital who gave us so much of their time and companionship. We thanks Professor Chen Shanlin for organizing the JST Hospital Symposium and for his hospitality. We would like to particularly thank Professor Guo Yang, who worked tirelessly over the months up to our visit to help us organise the paperwork and to make the trip the success it was. Professor Guo Yang’s hospitality and good humour make us forever in his debt.
Future areas of collaboration: continue with research workshops, but also a biannual BSSH/JHSE/SSHS high-level symposium with the JST Hospital.
Pictures:
- Outside the National Center for Orthopaedics
- Mongolian Restaurant
- Tiananmen Square
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