The Department of Thoracic Surgery of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital is currently a national key clinical specialty, a key discipline of Shanghai, and a key discipline of Shanghai "Top Priority", and has performed more than 100,000 cases of various thoracic surgeries. As a national training base for pulmonary and thoracic surgery designated by the Ministry of Health, the Department has been ranked top three of general thoracic surgery in the "Annual Ranking of the Best Specialties of Chinese Hospitals" for 10 consecutive years. At present, it has 8 general wards, 2 special wards and 2 ICUs, with a total of 525 beds, 26 high-level thoracic operating rooms, equipped with intraoperative CT, intraoperative C-arm machine, da Vinci robot, etc. It is the supporting institution of Shanghai Lung Transplantation Engineering and Technology Research Center. The Department performed more than 21,000 surgeries in 2021, which makes it the world's largest general thoracic surgery center and the No. 1 in the volume of minimally invasive surgeries around the world. There are 28 associate chief physicians and chief physicians, 15 professors and associate professors, 11 doctoral supervisors and 12 master supervisors. At present, there is one advanced worker of national health system, one person of National Hundred-Thousand-Ten thousand Project, two persons of National Natural Science Distinguished Young Scholars, two persons of National Natural Excellent Youth Fund, one person of 973 Chief Scientist, one person of 973 Chief Young Scientist, one person of Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Shanghai Medicine, one person of Shanghai Labor Medal, two persons of Shanghai Leading Talents, two persons of Shanghai Medical Leaders, one person of Outstanding Contribution to the Development of China Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Award, two AATS members, and two fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS). Prof. Ding Jia’an, Prof. Jiang Gening, Prof. Zhu Yuming, and Prof. Chen Chang are all well-known thoracic experts at home and abroad.

The Department focuses on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of thoracic tumors, and has carried out a great deal of work in lung cancer, surgical treatment of end-stage lung disease, mediastinal tumors, pulmonary tuberculosis, tracheal surgery, and so on. Especially in recent years, the Department has achieved new successes in the fields of comprehensive treatment of lung cancer, minimally invasive thoracic surgery, lung transplantation, tracheal surgery, and refractory pyothorax, and established the leading position of the discipline in China, with the clinical innovative technologies (single-hole VATS, subxiphoid VATS, tracheal surgery, mediastinal tumor, chest wall surgery), patents approved, speeches at international conferences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the number of clinical researches, the number papers published on SCI journals, the advanced training of foreign physicians and international broadcasting of surgeries, etc., are among the top ranks in China. In the " Annual Ranking of the Best Specialties of Chinese Hospitals " issued by the Institute of Hospital Management of Fudan University, it was ranked in the top three of general thoracic surgery in 2010-2021, and ranked second in general thoracic surgery in 2020-2021, and ranked in the top three of China's hospitals in recent years in terms of scientific and technological quantitative value evaluation, and ranked the first place in thoracic surgery in the ranking of national hospitals in terms of Internet influence in 2017-2022.

In the field of lung transplantation, which represents the comprehensive technical level of thoracic surgery, the Department carried out single-lung transplantation, sequential transplantation of two lungs, living lung lobe transplantation (the first case in China), lung re-transplantation (the first case in Asia), simultaneous lung transplantation combined with bilateral lung reduction surgery (the first case in China), and carried out the application of ECMO in lung transplantation of critically ill patients.

In recent years, the clinical achievements of the Department won the first, second and third prizes of China Medical Science and Technology, the first prize of Shanghai Scientific and Technological Progress, and many other major clinical awards. The Department has obtained 69 national patents, including 11 invention patents and 58 utility model patents. It is the first in the world to use autologous tipped pectoralis major muscle flap transplantation and tracheal segmental resection to treat long segmental tracheal tumors, and the first case in Asia to treat refractory pyothorax and bronchopleural fistula with tipped musculocutaneous flap transplantation. It has the most innovative techniques in China in the field of tracheal surgery, pioneered the new type of rongeur reconstruction surgery, carried out artificial trachea replacement, the first case of autologous bronchial flap repair tracheoplasty in China, autologous myocutaneous flap repair tracheal defect, autologous costal cartilage repair postoperative defect of long segmental stenosis of cervical trachea.

The Department of Thoracic Surgery actively carries out international exchanges and cooperation, and has made speeches at top international congresses many times, organized many domestic high-level academic conferences, hosted large-scale study classes, and established clinical education and training bases. At present, the Department has become the training base for thoracic surgeons of the European Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the recommended institution of the European Association of Thoracic Surgeons for "single-port thoracoscopy training", the preferred training base of Japan Respiratory Association for single-port thoracoscopy, the training base for advanced thoracic surgeons of the Ministry of Health, the clinical training base of Johnson & Johnson and American External Company in East China, and the training base of Shanghai Thoracic Surgery Specialties. It is also the training base for thoracic surgery specialists in Shanghai, and the training base for Shanghai residents, and has been certified as a European endoscopy training base. In recent years, more than 800 senior physicians from 76 countries and regions have spontaneously applied and paid for their own training in our department, and the presidents of local societies, department directors, and consultants account for 1/3 of the total, including the president of the European Society of Thoracic Surgery for two terms, the president of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Surgery, the president of the Russian Society of Thoracic Surgery, the president of the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgery, the president of the Philippine Society of Thoracic Surgery, the editor-in-chief of CTSnet, the largest international website of cardiothoracic surgery. He is also the editor-in-chief of CTSnet, the largest international cardiothoracic surgery website.

At the same time, the department is the first in China to carry out shift handover and ward rounds in English, and the clinical standard and humanistic care are in line with international standards. The international surgical broadcasting is carried out, and the sessions are held in all continents, such as the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Spain, Mexico, etc., half of which are international conferences and meetings of the Society of Thoracic Surgery in all continents.

In addition, the Thoracic Surgery Laboratory is equipped with specialized technicians who can carry out gene and protein level testing to support lung cancer related research. The Thoracic Surgery Animal Laboratory is capable of conducting CV, CL, and SPF level animal experiments with specialized technicians. Lung Transplantation Laboratory is a key laboratory of Shanghai Municipal Organ Transplantation (Lung Transplantation). Acupuncture and Anesthesia Laboratory is the first class laboratory of Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau for acupuncture and anesthesia lung resection research.