Dr. Hong Suying, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Former Deputy Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Renji Hospital

Introduction

As an obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Hong Suying’s life was defined by the arrival of new life. She witnessed the crimson faces of newborns every day, feeling the delicate pulse beneath their skin. She would cradle these infants, guarding them as if they were little suns.

She saw in these babies the future of a nation. She watched them grow into children, then teenagers, and finally young adults—the ones who would build the world to come. In her eyes, a baby’s first cry was more than just a sound; it was their first greeting to the world.

But the arrival of new life is not always smooth. For many mothers, childbirth is fraught with danger. Dr. Hong was the guardian who safeguarded both mother and child.

For her, the love for life that an obstetrician-gynecologist holds transcends time, knowledge, and soul itself. Over silent years, this love became her most steadfast pursuit and mission.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Renji Hospital has a tradition that has continued for half a century: monthly departmental meetings. These gatherings became a platform for generations of doctors to learn and grow. Even as she approached her nineties, Dr. Hong would still often come to listen and share, using her vast experience to guide young doctors.

In the 1950s, a time of immense change in China, it was not easy for women to enter university. Those who did were inevitably filled with ideals and possessed outstanding academic achievements.

It was with exceptional talent and unwavering determination that Hong Suying entered Shanghai Second Medical College, becoming one of its female medical students.

Throughout her six years in medical college, Hong Suying never abandoned the ideals in her heart. Through countless nights of studying—among books, in laboratories, and on the wards—she upheld her beliefs, graduating with honors.

Immediately after graduation, Hong Suying joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Renji Hospital. Over the next sixty years, she witnessed the department’s progress, milestone after milestone.

In an era when medical conditions were still developing, Dr. Hong, clad in her white coat, bustled through every corner of the hospital by day. By night, she pursued further education, pouring all her passion and wisdom into continuous improvement.

The spirit of medicine lies not only in professional skill but also in persistent ideals and unremitting effort. For more than half a century, her petite yet agile frame carried immense responsibilities.

Looking back on her path, now shaded with lush foliage, it was her faith as a physician that fueled her continuous ascent. Today, in the halls of Renji Hospital, one can still see a group of dedicated young doctors following in “Grandma Hong’s” footsteps, carrying forward her legacy.

A Mission of Mercy: Medical Aid in Somalia

In 1965, the Chinese and Somali governments signed an aid agreement, dispatching a medical team to Somalia, a picturesque yet underdeveloped African nation.

Hong Suying, as a member of the first Chinese medical aid team to Somalia, became a witness and participant in that era. She and her teammates went to work in local hospitals, helping the people overcome disease.

When Hong Suying and the medical team first arrived in Somalia, they faced many difficulties. Although they had prepared mentally, the reality was far more arduous than they had imagined.

First was the extreme climate. Most of Somalia is desert territory, with exceptionally hot and dry weather. Daytime temperatures often reached 40-50 degrees Celsius (104-122°F), making it difficult for the team to adapt.

Second, freshwater was extremely scarce. The team’s daily water supply came from wells drilled by a Chinese hydrological team also aiding Somalia. Food was also limited. The only vegetables available had to be airfreighted from China in small quantities. When logistics were smooth, team members might get one tomato per day; sometimes weeks would go by without any fruit. To this day, Dr. Hong remembers winter melons shipped from China as cherished rare ingredients, with not a single bit wasted.

Beyond the harsh living conditions, they faced an even greater challenge: poor communication.

Separated by thousands of miles, they could only contact family through traditional letters. A letter took over a month to reach China, and replies took just as long. To maintain contact, whenever a messenger arrived with letters, the team had to prepare their replies that same day to send back; otherwise, they would wait another month for a chance to write home.

In such an unfamiliar and harsh environment, the psychological pressure was immense. But for the sake of their commitment, Dr. Hong and her teammates held fast to their beliefs, overcame every difficulty, and persisted in their work. To communicate better, they learned the Somali language from local university students who had studied in China, enabling smoother basic interactions with the people.

Despite being in a foreign land, facing a harsh environment, outdated equipment, and cultural differences, they remained steadfast in their posts, doing their utmost to provide high-quality medical care to local patients.

The hospital where Dr. Hong worked was not large, and its facilities were rudimentary, lacking many common medications and advanced equipment. As the only obstetrician-gynecologist on the team, she was responsible for 10 beds. Daily, she made rounds, saw outpatients, and treated large numbers of patients. At night, she was also on call for emergencies, a role that came with immense difficulty and pressure.

As the team’s sole OB-GYN, Dr. Hong persevered silently. Even with continuous work, she never felt tired. Relying on the solid foundational skills she had developed at Shanghai’s Renji Hospital, she successfully performed surgeries like vaginal atresia repair, creation of an artificial vagina, and urinary fistula repair—procedures that had never been done locally before.

“African women are exceptionally brave, and I deeply admire them,” she recalled. “Once, a young woman developed a urinary fistula from an illness and was often mocked and insulted. When she came to our hospital for help, I performed the repair surgery. She was so excited and incredibly grateful to us.”

Over three years, the Chinese medical team, with Dr. Hong, earned high praise and respect from the local government and people through their exquisite medical skills and selfless dedication. During major Somali festivals, the Chinese medical team was always invited as guests of honor. During celebrations like National Day, locals were eager for the team to join their activities, making the events more warm and lively.

Local newspapers frequently reported on the team’s work, highlighting their orderly implementation of medical technologies and their meticulous patient care, which demonstrated their excellent medical standards and professionalism.

While carrying out their medical duties, the team integrated into local culture, respected customs, and shared Chinese culture with residents, all of which made them the “good brothers” and “good sisters” of Somalia.

In Somalia, Dr. Hong and her teammates contributed to the cause of human peace through the power of medicine, embodying the Chinese physician’s spirit of “boundless love and a healer’s heart.” These contributions were deeply etched into the hearts of the Somali people.

A Life’s Calling in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Returning from Morocco with honors, Dr. Hong Suying did not slow her pace.

After her return, Dr. Hong performed numerous transvaginal surgeries, including many complex urinary fistula operations, earning significant recognition in this specialized field.

At the time, a middle-aged woman from a rural area had suffered from a urinary fistula for over a decade. After seeking treatment at numerous hospitals across the country to no avail, she finally found her way to Dr. Hong’s clinic, drawn by her reputation. After studying the case and drawing on her extensive experience with complex urinary fistulas, Dr. Hong created a comprehensive plan for the patient, from preoperative preparation to postoperative rehabilitation. The surgery went smoothly. Afterward, Dr. Hong personally changed the dressings and monitored the wound recovery at the patient’s bedside every day. When she learned the patient’s family was too impoverished to afford basic postoperative nutrition, she used her own money to buy eggs and nutritional supplements. Upon discharge, the patient recovered better than expected, bidding farewell to the trouble of her urinary fistula forever.

Despite the profound impact of the ten-year Cultural Revolution on China’s medical field, Dr. Hong began her teaching career in 1975, taking on the responsibility of mentoring interns. She provided guidance not only in medical knowledge and clinical practice but also set an example in medical ethics and professionalism.

Starting in 1981, she was responsible for the department’s teaching work, using her profound knowledge and rich clinical experience to guide the growth and progress of generations of medical students.

In 1983, her students won first place in the East China region in the national obstetrics and gynecology examination for medical colleges. This was a testament to the quality of Dr. Hong’s teaching, which was formally recognized in 1985 when she was awarded the honorary title of “Shanghai Outstanding Educator.”

In 1987, Dr. Hong assisted the Shanghai Infectious Disease Hospital in establishing a maternity ward for patients with hepatitis, separating them from the general obstetrics and gynecology wards. This not only protected the health of the mothers but also eliminated the risk of cross-infection. In 1993, this initiative evolved into the Shanghai Obstetric Liver Disease Care Center, with Dr. Hong serving as a long-term consultant, providing more powerful guarantees for the treatment of pregnant women with hepatitis. The center also produced detailed, reliable data for research in obstetrics and gynecology, contributing to medical development in the field.

Progress in any medical discipline is driven by technological innovation. After summarizing her clinical experience, Dr. Hong created many new methods and treatments.

In the 1980s, she invented a new bladder separation method that provided an effective solution to bladder injury during extraperitoneal cesarean sections. This technique not only prevented injury but also improved the safety and success rate of the surgery. After repeated practice, the method was widely adopted, significantly benefiting both surgeons and patients.

In 1989, Dr. Hong documented her innovative technique in an instructional video titled “Extraperitoneal Cesarean Section,” which was distributed nationwide to provide practical guidance for healthcare workers.

The video generated an enthusiastic response in the medical community, becoming a classic training material for medical education and playing an important role in both research and practice.

Dr. Hong unreservedly passed on her techniques and experience, enabling medical personnel to better master this new surgical method, improve surgical quality, and provide safer, more efficient care for more mothers and babies. This was her original aspiration.

The advancement of obstetrics and gynecology cannot rely on a single discipline but requires multidisciplinary collaboration.

Dr. Hong realized early on the necessity of creating a specialized monitoring platform for pregnant women with heart disease. She communicated with relevant hospital and municipal health departments, overcoming numerous hurdles related to policy, staffing, space, and funding. Finally, in 1993, led by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Renji Hospital, the Shanghai Obstetric Cardiac Care Center was established, with Dr. Hong as its first director. The new center significantly reduced the risk of life-threatening complications for pregnant women with heart disease, ensuring maternal safety. She personally organized the team, introduced advanced foreign equipment, and applied cutting-edge medical technology to provide comprehensive care and life-saving rescue for mothers.

In the third trimester of pregnancy, the cardiac function of women with heart disease is often unstable, with risks multiplying. Dr. Hong often stayed by a patient’s bedside for entire nights. She frequently told young doctors, “If a ‘clinical doctor’ isn’t ‘at the bedside,’ but instead sits in an office listening to reports and looking at lab results, that is irresponsible to the patient and a desecration of our sacred profession.”

In the 30 years since its establishment, the center has treated thousands of cases of pregnancy complicated by heart disease and successfully rescued hundreds of critically ill mothers. Through the center’s efforts, the mortality rate for these patients at Renji Hospital has dropped to 0.5%, a figure on par with developed nations.

“Patients with Lupus Can Still Give Birth!”

Dr. Hong had always felt a deep sense of regret for women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were told they could not have children. She hoped to collaborate with the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology to change this. Renji Hospital was the ideal place, as its Rheumatology and Immunology Department represented the highest level in China.

To tackle this challenge, Dr. Hong teamed up with Professor Chen Shunle from Rheumatology, leading her student Di Wen in in-depth research on the condition of pregnant women with lupus. The two departments worked together to explore a set of scientific diagnostic and treatment standards and protocols, trying various new therapies.

During this period, Dr. Hong co-authored several influential papers, providing a more solid theoretical basis and targeted guidance for clinicians to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

In the 1990s, Dr. Hong devoted considerable energy to studying hemodynamics and the placenta in pregnant women with SLE, becoming the first to summarize relevant diagnostic and treatment methods. In collaboration with Professors Chen Shunle and Gu Yueying, she guided her doctoral students to publish multiple research findings. Through long-term clinical exploration and practice, they jointly overcame the challenge that had permanently prohibited lupus patients from having children.

The results of this multidisciplinary collaboration were a landmark breakthrough, nearly perfectly solving the fertility challenge for women with SLE and achieving a transformation from zero to one! This meant that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus finally had the opportunity to become mothers.

Dr. Hong was deeply gratified. She knew this was not just about improving treatment; it was about creating countless happy families, allowing patients to experience the joy of motherhood, and protecting the reproductive rights and dignity of women with chronic illness.

In her research career, Dr. Hong authored more than 20 influential academic papers and contributed to over ten textbooks and monographs. In 1992, she received the Third Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. In 1995, she was awarded the Second Prize for Shanghai Clinical Medical Achievement by the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.

Even after passing her ninetieth birthday, Dr. Hong remained an active participant in academic exchange activities until the pandemic, demonstrating with her 60-year medical career the dedication of a senior expert and showcasing the character and integrity of an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Through her noble medical ethics, exquisite surgical skills, and profound knowledge, she shouldered the profound responsibility for her patients’ health and lives, earning the deep respect and admiration of new generations of physicians. Her upright character, rigorous and pragmatic approach, and noble spirit that transcended fame and fortune continue to inspire younger generations to forge ahead courageously.