The 2024 Belt & Road Initiative Liver Minimally Invasive Technology International Training Courses & China HPB Innovation Conference drew to an end recently. Being hosted by the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, the training was conductedat the West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

26 hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeons from 13 countries along the "the Belt and Road", including Hungary, Egypt, Italy and Thailand, had a 3-week training in the West China Hospital.

There are two familiarfaces among these 26 trainees. One is Ahmed Elgendi, who is the head of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine of Alexandria University in Egypt, and the other one is Merab Nakashidze, the deputydirectorof Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery/Liver Transplantation Centre of Batumi Hospital in Georgia.They participated in the first "Belt and Road" training course in China last year.

What has drawn them to the West China Hospital again?And what did they learn in the program?

Put Learning into Practice

The Local Patients Like Minimally Invasive Technique.

After studying minimally invasive technique at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Daneil Wettstein, a surgeon of the Hungarian National Oncology Centre returned to his home country to carry out Hungary's first fluorescence guided laparoscopic liver resection surgery. Ahmed Elgendi, the director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at the University of Alexandria in Egypt, began laparoscopic liver resection after returning to his home country. He has increased the rate of minimally invasive liver cancer surgeries at his institution from less than 20 percent to 60 percent, and has dramatically shortened the length of hospital stays for patients undergoing liver cancer surgery.

A female patient who received minimally invasive liver surgery was discharged after three days and returned to work a week later. She praised the minimally invasive procedure a lot. Ahmed Elgendi said "Minimally invasive liver surgery has also been recognized and welcomed by local Egyptian patients, and more and more doctors have realized that similar surgeries can be conducted through minimally invasive incisions."

When they learnt about this year’s training at the WCH, Ahmed Elgendi and Merab Nakashidze registered without hesitation. Both of them have a learning goal of laparoscopic live donor liver resection surgery.

Merab Nakashidze (Georgia)

"Unlike liver cancer resection surgery,live donor liver transplantation involves performing liver resection surgery on healthy individuals and any extra trauma is unnecessary. It is undoubtedly a better option if it can be performed with minimally invasive technique. This is the reason that I would like to come back to study again at the WCH."

Ahmed Elgendi (Egypt)

"The West China Hospital of Sichuan University has advanced teaching equipment and experienced trainers, and is at the forefront of medical practice, education and research and other fields. I'm glad to bring what I have learnt there back to Egypt and help patients, and I hope to establish a closer and deeper partnership with the West China Hospital and bring back more advanced equipment in addition to technical learning."

Thanks to last year's training, this year's trainingcourse on minimally invasive hepatic techniques for the "Belt and Road" countries has gained more popularity, and attracteda large number of applicants. After careful screening, 26 hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeons from 13 countries finally came to study at West China Hospital. In terms of the student composition, the proportion of senior doctors and discipline leaders is increasing. The proportion of discipline leaders has reached 40% and the proportion of scholars from European countries has also increased from 30% last year to 50% this year.