Chinese medicine: from rural hospitals to top three hospitals in Kyoto

Kyoto International Airport, early Monday morning.

The Kyoto International Medical Center delegation, led by Chen Yang, was truly impressive. Zhong Dongyang from the cardiothoracic surgery team, He Yonghua from the hepatobiliary surgery team, and newly joined neurosurgeon Qu Haoran from Tiantan Hospital, along with three core team members, were all present.

The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine was accompanied by two capable men, Wen Haodong and Xun Jiahong.

Qu Haoran is only forty-seven years old this year, quite young, with sharp eyes, revealing the confidence and calmness of someone who specializes in the field outside the brain.

Being able to become an authority in the field of neurosurgery in China at this age is definitely a sign of great talent.

Seeing Chen Yang, Qu Haoran walked up quickly and shook hands with Chen Yang with a smile: "Director Chen, I have long heard of your name. I am deeply honored to be able to study with you this time."

Chen Yang smiled slightly, his attitude humble: "Director Qu, you are too polite. Tiantan Hospital is well-known. This time when we go to Country R, ​​we will rely more on Director Qu in the field of neurosurgery."

Qu Haoran was pleased with these words, and at the same time, he became more curious about Chen Yang's expertise in neurosurgery.

The group passed through the VIP channel and successfully boarded the flight to Tokyo.

In the first-class cabin, Chen Yang was whispering with several core members.

"According to the information from Professor Yamamoto, Country R takes our arrival very seriously, but they may also be considering it."

Zhong Dongyang whispered, "The cases they arranged won't be simple."

He Yonghua snorted, "As expected. Country R boasts of being the leader in Asian medical care. We're here to shatter their sense of superiority."

I can’t say about the whole world, but in the Asian circle, Country R has always considered itself to be number one. Of course, Country R is indeed very strong and has unique features in many fields.

Wen Haodong rubbed his hands eagerly: "Chen Yang, if we encounter any difficult and complicated diseases that they can't solve, it will be a good opportunity for us Chinese medicine practitioners to show off our skills."

Chen Yang closed his eyes, his tone calm but filled with unquestionable confidence: "When the enemy comes, we will fight with our soldiers; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. Whether it's surgery or Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment, the purpose of our trip is to exchange and learn, and to demonstrate our true abilities. Everyone should keep a calm mind and perform at their normal level."

The calmer Chen Yang is, the more at ease the team members feel. This is a strong self-confidence built on countless successes.

The plane landed smoothly at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport, and Ichiro Yamamoto from Juntendo University Hospital personally led people to greet him at the airport.

"Chen Yangjun, welcome to Tokyo!"

At the airport entrance, Professor Ichiro Yamamoto, who had been waiting for him, came forward warmly and shook hands with Chen Yang. He looked rosy-cheeked and energetic, a stark contrast to the sickly look he had shown in Kyoto.

"Professor Yamamoto, it seems that you have recovered very well." Chen Yang greeted with a smile.

"It's all thanks to Chen Yangjun's miraculous healing!"

Yamamoto Ichiro expressed his sincere gratitude and lowered his voice, "Mr. Chen Yang, both the University of Tokyo School of Medicine and Juntendo Hospital attach great importance to this exchange and have arranged for many top experts to participate. However... some people may not be as friendly as they appear."

Chen Yang's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly: "Thank you Professor Yamamoto for the reminder. Academic exchanges should be based on individual ability."

A hint of admiration flashed in Ichiro Yamamoto's eyes. Without saying anything more, he led everyone into the car and headed to the hotel where they were staying.

In the car, Ichiro Yamamoto briefly introduced the schedule of this exchange.

The first two days were primarily devoted to visits to the University of Tokyo Medical Hospital and Juntendo Hospital, where academic lectures and case discussions were held. The highlight came in the following days, when the R team arranged two highly challenging surgeries as "focuses of communication": one was a corrective heart surgery on a child with complex congenital heart disease, and the other was a radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma with portal vein invasion.

"In addition, our neurosurgery master, Professor Masakazu Sakata, learned that Chen Yangjun is also interested in brain surgery, so he specially adjusted his schedule and will demonstrate a 'central skull base meningioma resection' the day after tomorrow." Yamamoto Ichiro added with a hint of temptation in his eyes.

Qu Haoran's heart moved slightly.

He had heard of Shoichi Sakata, a neurosurgeon in Country R, ​​a long time ago. He was indeed an authority in neurosurgery in Country R.

After settling in the hotel, there was a simple welcome party that evening.

The next day, the delegation went to the University of Tokyo Medical Hospital for a preliminary visit.

The hardware facilities of the University of Tokyo Medical Hospital are indeed world-class, with advanced medical equipment and intelligent management systems everywhere.

In addition to Ichiro Yamamoto, there were also several senior professors from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo who accompanied him. They seemed polite, but they had an unconcealable sense of superiority in their bones.

Especially when visiting the cardiothoracic surgery ICU, an associate chief physician named Ryosuke Ishii pointed to a patient who was undergoing ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support on the monitoring screen and spoke in a slightly boastful tone.

"This patient has end-stage heart failure, and we are awaiting a heart transplant. Our ECMO support time and success rate are among the highest in the world. I wonder if your center has any unique experience in this area that you can share?"

This question was quite provocative, and the subtext was that you Chinese are probably still far behind in this kind of top life support technology.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Chen Yang and Zhong Dongyang.

Zhong Dongyang frowned slightly and was about to speak when Chen Yang calmly replied, "ECMO is an important means of life support, but it is ultimately 'support' rather than 'treatment'."

"Our center focuses on using a combination of internal and external medicine to restore the patient's heart function as much as possible, freeing them from dependence on medical devices. For example, we use Traditional Chinese Medicine to improve myocardial metabolism and reduce edema, combined with specific rehabilitation methods. In some specific cases, we even use minimally invasive surgery to stimulate myocardial regeneration... We may have the opportunity to discuss specific cases in subsequent exchanges."

Chen Yang's answer not only pointed out his own characteristics, but also cleverly avoided direct data comparison, leading the topic to a more constructive treatment concept.

Kyoto International Medical Center does lack some equipment and cutting-edge technology, but Chen Yang did not deny this.

Ishii Ryosuke was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Chen Yang to respond from this angle, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond. Yamamoto Ichiro quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Chen Yang's concept of combining Chinese and Western medicine is very unique and worth learning from."

As they were talking, the group continued their tour.

"The Japanese devils really have no good intentions. Their eyes are almost growing on the top of their heads." Wen Haodong couldn't help but complain.

"That's normal. They boast about their medical expertise being the best in Asia, so naturally they look down on us."

He Yonghua remained relatively calm: "The case discussion and surgery starting tomorrow will be the real test."

Zhong Dongyang looked at Chen Yang and said, "Director Chen, the two surgeries for heart correction and hilar bile duct cancer are both extremely difficult. The R side chose these two cases for obvious reasons..."

Chen Yang smiled and said, "Don't feel pressured, and don't let the other party's attitude sway your emotions. Remember the purpose of our trip and don't lose your composure."

Everyone was stunned. Yes, this time they came to challenge, so let Xiao Zi live a little more arrogantly first.