Blood thicker than water for top liver surgeon

Sharing his skills

The diameter of the hepatic artery - which provides oxygenated blood to the liver - is as thin as 1.5 to 2 millimeters, making liver transplantations complex and highly risky. However, Chen is famed for his delicate, precise skills and an extraordinary ability to control bleeding.

"Maybe chopsticks give your hands a better flexibility training than knives and forks," Chen joked.

After receiving an invitation from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, he made his first journey to the mainland in 1995. Since then, he has visited more than 100 times to help with liver transplantations as well as train hospital doctors, including those in remote areas.

"I believe medical science is a discipline of saving lives rather than a property kept to oneself," Chen said.

In 2006, Chen visited Renji Hospital at Shanghai Jiaotong University's School of Medicine and showcased a model operation there, which was filmed as a valuable reference. Surgeons at the hospital accomplished 803 successful liver transplant operations last year.

For many mainland doctors, Chen is not only a treasure chest of skills to draw from, but also a bridge for medical exchanges and friendship across the Straits.

"Wang Yung-ching (the late Taiwan tycoon) always told me that as long as we had the capability, we should try our best to help our ancestral home. His idea deeply touched me," Chen said.

Now on the mainland, Chen is assisting Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital as it upgrades its doctors' medical skills and builds another liver transplant center.

He has also been helping mainland doctors receive training at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and helping mainland patients receive treatment there.

Chen Zheng, an anesthetist from Hunan Children's Hospital who is studying at the Taiwan hospital, said Chen Chao-long has been supportive and that he is being treated like he has always been a part of the team.

So far, 24 patients from the mainland have received liver transplants, and over 300 doctors from the mainland and across the world have engaged in advanced studies at the Kaohsiung hospital, according to its superintendent, Wang Chih-chi.

"One doctor's capability is limited, but passing on one's medical skills to more might save a life on the other side of the world," he said.

Although he has reached an age when most people retire, Chen Chaolong still works in the field to a tight schedule: Every Monday and Friday he focuses on outpatient medical care; every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on surgeries; and every weekend on academic exchanges.

In the past two years, he has also traveled to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Qinghai province to help establish medical centers and supervise complicated surgical treatments.

"Doctors at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital have performed over 1,700 liver transplants on patients in critical condition," Chen Chao-long said. "These heartwarming and powerful stories make me realize the depth and greatness of humanity."

Xinhua