The 7th Chinese Research Hospital Association Thyroid Disease Summit was held in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province, China, on March 19 - 20, 2022.
This annual meeting was co-sponsored by the Professional Committee on Thyroid Diseases of Chinese Research Hospital Association, Professional Committee on Endoscopic Thyroid and Breast Surgeries of Henan Provincial Health Science and Technology Society, Chinese Society of Thyroid Surgeons, Branch of Clinical Practical Technology of the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, Thyroid Surgery Equipment Committee of the Surgical Equipment Branch of China Association of Medical Equipment, and Henan Society of Thyroid Surgery. Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University hosted the event.
Two journals including Chinese Journal of Practical Surgery and Annals of Thyroid offered academic support for the meeting.
The summit was chaired by Prof. Wen Tian from the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Prof. Hongkai Lian, President of Zhengzhou Central Hospital, Prof. Yu'an Zhang, President of Henan Health Science and Technology Association, Prof. Liguo Tian from Chinese Journal of Practical Surgery, and Prof. Quancheng Kan, Director of Henan Provincial Health Commission. The executive chairpersons were Prof. Jing Lyu from Zhengzhou Central Hospital and Prof. Xiubo Lu from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.
Many heavyweights in the field of thyroid disease met online to offer their insights on the standardized development of thyroid discipline and share their new findings. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-day meeting was held online. The conference was broadcast live online, with more than 120,000 views. Overwhelming good feedbacks were received from many participants.
The 7th China Neuromonitoring Workshop was an important part of this event. Prof. Hui Sun, Director of the Department of Thyroid Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University, delivered an opening speech. "The past 13 years have witnessed the successful holding of six consecutive workshops on neuromonitoring." he said, "This year, again we have invited experts with outstanding contributions and rich experience in this field to interpret the theories, analyze the practice, and review the guidelines and norms, focusing on the difficulties and hotspots in clinical settings. The knowledge will pave the way for the development of thyroid surgery in an era of precision medicine."
Prof. Wen Tian, Director of the Department of Thyroid Hernia Surgery, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, also addressed the meeting. He firstly expressed his gratitude to all the peers for their contributions to the standardized diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer and the wider application of neuromonitoring technology. "Committed to the standardized diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, Professor Hui Sun and his team have made great contributions to the adoption of neuromonitoring technology in thyroid surgeries in the past 14 years. They have published many guidelines, consensuses, and books, and organized a series of training sessions.” “Since its founding, the Neuromonitoring Group has promoted the fast, high-quality development of the discipline and promoted the realization of complete and safe resection of thyroid lesions through extensive international and nationwide exchanges. The rapid advances in thyroid surgery depend highly on the standardization of neuromonitoring technology, which is an urgently required tool to ensure the effectiveness and safety of thyroid surgeries. The workshop presents to you not only explains the essential theories and knowledge of neuromonitoring technology but also demonstrates its standard operations in clinical practice, which I believe will further promote the rational use of neuromonitoring technology in China.” Prof. Tian added.
Prof. Dionigi Gianlorenzo, member of the International Neural Monitoring Study Group (INMSG), Director of the Division for General Surgery and Head of the Endocrine Surgery Section, University of Milan Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, also delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. "I am very honored to participate in the Chinese Research Hospital Association Thyroid Disease Summit. I would like to express my joy and appreciation to all the experts on behalf of the University of Milan, Italy, and my colleagues. This meeting will undoubtedly further enhance our exchanges in scientific research and clinical practice." said Prof. Gianlorenzo.
The workshop consisted of three sessions. The first session focused on the application of neuromonitoring at centers in Shangdong Province and was chaired by Prof. Kewei Jiang from Peking University People's Hospital, Prof. Honghao Li from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and Prof.Hao Zhang from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Prof. Luchuan Li from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Prof. Rongzhan Fu from the First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, and Prof. Min Hao from Dongying People’s Hospital presented their lectures titled “Neuroelectrophysiological monitoring of motor nerves during thyroid and parathyroid surgeries”, “Strategies for recurrent laryngeal nerve protection in thyroid surgery”, and "Application of neuromonitoring in thyroid surgery", respectively. Participants were deeply appreciative of the excellent presentations by these speakers.
The second session was chaired by Prof. Jing Lyu from Zhengzhou Central Hospital, Prof. Guang Chen from the First Hospital of Jilin University, Prof. Guoyang Wu from Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, Prof. Qingqing He from PLA 960 Hospital, Prof. Hua Kang from Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University. Prof. Hui Sun from China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University, Prof. Ping Wang from the Second Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Prof. Daqi Zhang from China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University, Prof. Dionigi Gianlorenzo from University of Milan Medical School, Italy, and Prof. Le Shen from Peking Union Medical College Hospital presented their lectures, titled "Application and scientific innovations of intraoperative thyroid nerve monitoring technology", "Application of intraoperative nerve monitoring technology in lumpectomy thyroid surgery", "Application of intraoperative nerve monitoring technology in da Vinci robotic thyroid surgery", "Intraoperative thyroid nerve injury and repair during thyroid surgery", and "Anesthesia management for intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring", respectively. These lectures covered the main concepts and issues in the advanced application of neuromonitoring, offering brand-new perspectives to the audience.
The third session was a simulation session, a featured link of the workshop. Prof. Yijun Wu from the First Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Prof. Wei Wei from Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, and Prof. Qingdong Zeng from Shandong University Qilu Hospital presided over this session. Prof. Yishen Zhao, Prof. Tie Wang, and Prof. Xiaoli Liu from China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University demonstrated neuromonitoring problems and solutions at their lectures titled "Basic application of neuromonitoring technology", "Troubleshooting of neuromonitoring technology" and "Advanced application of neuromonitoring technology", respectively. According to the course design, these three speakers asked questions one after another throughout the lectures, with the audience giving answers by using a question-and-answer device. This live Q&A link also allowed a questionnaire-based survey.
This advanced workshop on neuromonitoring lasted nearly 4 hours and brought a rich academic feast to all the participants. Initiated by Prof. Hui Sun, 25 neuromonitoring training bases across China jointly compiled the "Neuromonitoring - Medical Road with a Voice: The Adventure of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technology in Thyroid Surgery in China", with an attempt to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Neuromonitoring Group. The authors wish to remember and thank all those who have contributed to the development of intraoperative neuromonitoring technology in thyroid surgery in China; also, it is expected that all the experience and lessons in the past few years will eventually become the driving force of heritage and innovation, and thus promote the evolutionary development of neuromonitoring technology.