HANGZHOU -- Chinese surgeons had a chance to impress their U.S. counterparts with their surgical techniques, as two liver resection operations in an east China hospital were broadcasted live at the UCLA Medical Center.
Via video-conferencing, liver surgeons with the Medical Center of University of California, Los Angeles, watched on Tuesday the surgeries on two patients with severe liver cancer, which was led by Zheng Shusen, president of The First Hospital affiliated with the School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, in Hangzhou City.
Ronald Busuttil, chief of the division of liver and pancreas transplantation at UCLA, described the procedures as "perfect," saying that he was impressed by the skillfulness of the Chinese surgeons.
Liver resection is the surgical removal of part of the liver, usually, to treat liver cancer.
"Liver surgery is one of the most complicated abdominal surgeries," said Zhang Min, vice president of the division of liver, cholecyst and pancreas at The First Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University's School of Medicine. "Since the liver holds a lot of blood, death can be caused easily during surgery as a result of bleeding, and post-operative complications are also a common occurrence."
In China, liver surgery was started in the late 1950s and has witnessed a rapid development during the past 60 years.
In some big hospitals in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, the rate of bleeding during the surgery and post-operative complications is now the lowest in the world, Zhang said.
The UCLA Medical Center and The First Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University's School of Medicine, have signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation in the study of pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of liver diseases.
The UCLA Medical Center is also planning to send a group of young surgeons to Hangzhou City to communicate with Chinese surgeons and gain experience.
