Shanghai Chest Hospital is one of the earliest-established Grade-A tertiary specialized hospitals in China, dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of heart, lung, esophageal, tracheal, and mediastinal diseases. It integrates medical services, teaching, and scientific research. In 2004, the hospital was renamed Shanghai Red Cross Chest Hospital, and in 2005, it became an affiliated hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

 Founded on November 2, 1957, through the consolidation of key resources in cardiothoracic medicine by the Shanghai municipal government, the hospital appointed three of the four pioneers of China’s cardiothoracic surgery—Professors Huang Jiasi, Lan Xichun, and Gu Kaishi—as its first president and vice presidents, respectively.

 The hospital currently comprises 10 clinical departments: Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery, Pulmonary Medicine, Oncology, Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Emergency, ICU, Radiation Oncology, and Anesthesiology. It also has 10 medical technology departments: Radiology, Pathology, Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound Diagnosis, Cardiac Function, Pulmonary Function, Endoscopy, and Nutrition.

 Shanghai Chest Hospital oversees several key disciplines and specialties, including the National Key Discipline (Cardiology), National Key Clinical Specialties (Thoracic Surgery, Cardiology, and Cardiac Vascular Surgery), the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Key Specialty of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine), Shanghai Key Clinical Specialties (Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary Medicine), Shanghai Lung Cancer Center (Oncology), and Shanghai Key Medical Disciplines.

 It was the first hospital in China to establish an internationally certified chest pain center and is among the nation’s first batch to launch the China Chest Pain Center, China Heart Failure Center, China Atrial Fibrillation Center, and cancer pain management demonstration wards. Additionally, it hosts the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis and Treatment Center and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Esophageal Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Center.

 With 964 beds and 23 clinical wards—including ICU, CCU, day-care, and clinical research wards—the hospital specializes in cardiothoracic diseases, with a focus on two major discipline groups: thoracic oncology and cardiovascular diseases.

 The Thoracic Surgery Department, which covers the broadest spectrum of diseases and employs the most comprehensive range of subspecialty technologies in China, performs over 14,000 surgeries annually. More than 90% of these are minimally invasive procedures. The preoperative and postoperative pathological coincidence rate for malignant lung tumors exceeds 90%, and the hospital ranks first among Shanghai’s tertiary hospitals in the number of Grade 3 and 4 surgeries performed.

 Shanghai Chest Hospital was the first in mainland China to perform da Vinci robotic-assisted thoracic surgeries, having completed over 600 such procedures for lung, esophageal, and mediastinal diseases. It has consistently ranked first globally in this domain for many years.

 The hospital pioneered multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment for lung cancer in China and was among the first to implement targeted therapy and immunotherapy for lung cancer. It leads in imaging diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopic interventional therapy, pathological diagnosis, and genetic testing, and has repeatedly guided clinical guidelines for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

 As one of the earliest centers in China for heart disease diagnosis and treatment, the hospital—under Professor Lan Xichun, its first vice president—performed the nation’s first mitral valve closure surgery. It excels in treating various cardiovascular diseases, particularly complex and severe cases.

 The hospital was among the first to perform surgeries such as coronary artery interventions, heart valve procedures, congenital heart disease corrections, heart transplants, and atrial fibrillation treatments. It leads in interventional therapy for complex coronary heart disease, comprehensive atrial fibrillation management (including radiofrequency ablation, left atrial appendage occlusion, and anticoagulation), interventional treatment of abnormal cardiopulmonary vascular structures, advanced cardiac pacing techniques, and end-stage heart failure care. Its volume of atrial fibrillation radiofrequency ablation surgeries has ranked first in the Asia-Pacific region for many years.

 Since its establishment, the hospital has achieved numerous “firsts” in the history of cardiothoracic surgery in China, including the development of the first bubble-type artificial heart-lung machine, the first plastic seamless artificial blood vessel, plush polyester artificial blood vessel, the first human lung adenocarcinoma cell line, the world’s first unilateral single lung transplantation from an unrelated adult donor, the first coronary bypass and cardiac valve replacement surgery, and the first da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery.

 The hospital houses the Shanghai Thoracic Oncology Research Institute, a central laboratory, the Cardiopulmonary Vascular Translational Research Center, a bio-bank, the National Drug Clinical Trial Institute, and a high-tech transformation park. It undertakes key research and development projects from the Ministry of Science and Technology, National 863 Key Research Programs, and major projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has received awards including the National Science Congress Award, the National Invention Award, and the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

 With over 1,400 employees, the hospital boasts 160 chief and deputy chief physicians, 62 doctoral and master’s supervisors, and 32 recipients of the State Council Special Allowance. It is also home to outstanding young and middle-aged experts recognized by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, National Outstanding Youth awardees, Shanghai Leading Talents, Shanghai Subject Chief Scientists, Shanghai Top Youth talents, Shanghai Pujiang Program scholars, Shanghai Outstanding Medical Talents, and Shanghai Outstanding Young Medical Talents.

 In its founding year, the hospital was designated as a national cardiothoracic surgery training base by the Ministry of Health and has since conducted 48 training sessions, educating thousands of cardiothoracic surgeons nationwide. It also serves as a training base for interventional treatments of coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, structural heart disease, and endoscopy. The hospital emphasizes training programs for resident physicians and specialists.

 It recruits international doctors for long-term training in thoracic surgery and is designated as the only demonstration center by the Asia Thoracic Surgery Education Committee. Additionally, it undertakes scientific and teaching research responsibilities, as well as post-doctoral training programs, in collaboration with institutions such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

 Adhering to the principles of public welfare, the hospital actively fulfills its social responsibilities. It has consistently sent medical professionals to support Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and has participated in charitable programs for children with congenital heart disease in impoverished areas for over a decade. The hospital has been honored as an “Advanced Group of the National Health System,” a National Smoke-free Hospital, one of the “Top Ten in Shanghai Professional Ethics Construction,” a “Shanghai Volunteer Base,” and has repeatedly won the “Shanghai Civilized Unit” award.

 Goal of Shanghai Chest Hospital: Striving to build an outstanding clinical research specialized hospital with compassion and a spirit of dedication.

Spirit of Shanghai Chest Hospital: Innovation, Practicality, Excellence, Harmony.