An international training course in minimally invasive liver surgery technology is being held at West China Hospital in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Doctors from Belt and Road countries are studying the technology, and sharing their experience.

Thirty doctors from 16 Belt and Road countries such as Hungary, Egypt, and Belarus are participating. Some have more than 20 years of medical experience in hepatology disease treatment such as liver transplants. The course includes theoretical study, video demonstrations, and simulation training.

ZHENG SONGWU Chengdu, Sichuan Province "The doctors at West China Hospital have a lot of experience performing keyhole liver resections, using world-class technology, that makes it minimally invasive. Trainees come here to study the liver both theoretically and in practice."

The course was supported by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, and experienced hepatology experts from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the vice president of West China Hospital, Wu Hong, will live stream the hepatology surgeries and share their experience with the foreign doctors.

WU HONG Vice President, West China Hospital "People from Belt and Road countries are at high risk of suffering hepatobiliary diseases, such as liver cancer and hepatic hydatid. Those diseases have severely damaged their health and hampered economic development, so we hope through this course, the diagnosing and treatment abilities and hepatology education of the doctors in those countries can be better because China's treatment for hepatobiliary diseases is world-class."

The trainees from different countries shared their ideas and feelings about the three-week course.

GERGELY NAGY Doctor from Hungary "It's really a good opportunity for us to learn the minimally invasive techniques in China from these well-experienced and trained doctors and colleagues. Actually, another good purpose was to build a long cooperation with Chinese colleagues in training programs or other experimental investigations. These are the main things."

AHMED ELGEND Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt "Basically, what we rely on in Egypt is open liver surgery, and there is not much advancement in the laparoscopic liver sections. This would benefit our patients, so we tend to shift from open surgery to laparoscopic surgery for our patients because we have a lot of patients suffering from liver diseases and liver cancer. So I think many of our patients will benefit from exchanging experiences and learning this technique from West China Hospital."

This year marks the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative. This medical course has enhanced both the medical cooperation and friendship between China and the Belt and Road countries. Zheng Songwu, CGTN, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

This article is from CGTN, please check the video clip here: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-04-16/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDcxNzMy/index.html