By staff reporter LI XIA

Professor Wang Jun and Dr. Ominger, head of the Thoracic Surgery Department of the University of Michigan, current chairman of the American Thoracic Surgery Doctors' Association.

THE telephone in Professor Wang Jun's office rings, which means that everything is ready for his next operation.

Despite his relatively young age, 39-year-old Wang Jun is an authority on thoracic surgery. This is true not only in Beijing, but also in the whole of China, and internationally. He is now head of the Thoracic Surgery Department at the Center for Minimal Invasive Thoracic Surgery of the People's Hospital affiliated to Beijing University; a doctorate supervisor; member of the Chinese Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (CSTCS); executive member of the ELSA Thoracoscopic Chapter; member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS); chairman of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE) in Asia; and member of standing committee and editing committee of several professional magazines in China.

Those of a similar age to Wang Jun, also currently top of their field in China, have much in common. Most are from ordinary families, and consequently did not have the best education. The "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) almost caused the entire Chinese educational system to collapse, and the college entrance examination was suspended for its duration. Upon its resumption in 1977, Wang Jun and his contemporaries took and passed the examination, and thus gained access to higher education. Some later went abroad for further study, and due to their great efforts, and the opportunities provided by reform and opening up, they have since become the fulcrum of Chinese society.

Having the disposition of one eager to do his best at everything, Wang Jun did well in higher education. His decision to study at medical school can be attributed to two factors, the first being his parents' influence. Wang was weak at an early age, and they hoped that studying to be a doctor might improve his health. The second was that his marks fell short of those required by his ideal college, which is still a sore point. Despite settling for second best, he nevertheless studied hard and was a brilliant student in his grade. After graduation, he continued his medical studies at the graduate school of Beijing Medical Sciences University, where he took a master's degree, and graduated with the highest marks in the specialized courses examination of the whole school. When going abroad was in vogue, Wang contacted a few German and American medical centers, but no offers were forthcoming owing to various reasons. In the early 1990s, only two of the original 37 students in Wang's class were still in China, one of whom was Wang Jun, but he did not lose heart, instead devoting himself to his work and research. As a result, he accumulated a wealth of thoracic surgery clinical experience and theoretic knowledge, laying a solid foundation for his later achievements.

After several years of hard work, Wang Jun made world advanced achievements in the pre-pneumonectomy pulmonary function test and television thoracoscopic operation. Opportunities came to him in a steady stream. From 1995 to 1997, Wang Jun's situation completely changed, and with the aid of several international academic organizations, such as the UICC, he went to the University of Washington, University of Chicago, and Michigan University on study and exchange programs. The opportunity he most valued was the Graham scholarship presented by the AATS for the year 1997-1998 -- a special honor for which only one person is eligible each year. These provided him the chance to study and work at several leading medical centers, including Harvard University. He gained a good grasp of the latest technology in international thoracic surgery, made the acquaintance of several famous professors, and became a leader in the international thoracic surgery field.

Professor Wang Jun performs a thoracoscopic operation.

Like many Chinese overseas students, Wang Jun returned to China after finishing his studies in the USA. He always remembers one incident that occurred in 1997 at the University of Chicago, when he was asked by a noted professor who had been to China in the 1970s, "Is acupuncture anesthesia still used in surgical operations in China?" Another person asked, "As far as we know, when President Nixon visited China for the first time, he stayed at the Jinjiang Hotel. Is it still China's best hotel?" It was then that he realized how little Americans know of developments in China, and that he became conscious of his desire to serve as a bridge. He gave up the golden chance to work at the Mayo Clinic, the most famous hospital in the USA, and came back to his old school, Beijing Medical Sciences University. "I wanted to bring American technology back to China, so as to benefit one-fifth of the world's population." It was his comment at the AATS annual meeting that won him prolonged applause.

Wang Jun's eagerness to do everything well meant that his career path was beset with difficulties. It took him ten or even more theses to get the same result that others obtained with only one, but such hardship helped him gain a good grasp of basic knowledge, and he gradually found it easier to adapt to his new environment. He eventually consolidated his position in the thoracic field, and was awarded the professorship and doctorate supervisorship much earlier than his peers, as well as winning the approval and respect of his counterparts both at home and abroad.

One of Wang Jun's greatest achievements is his establishment of television thoracoscope surgery and laparoscopy surgery -- two new branches in China. This technology was introduced and described in one of his articles, and illustrated by a scene from the Hollywood movie Executive Decision, where, in order to observe what was going on in a cabin, special technical troops used a speculum to look through a small hole in the floor. Television thoracoscopy is a new technology that works in a similar way, as it allows patients to be examined internally through a speculum installed in the thoracic cavity, while an operation is simultaneously performed by special internal apparatus. It differs from the traditional thoracotomy in that the 30-40 cm cut is substituted for three 1-2 cm cuts, and it has the advantage of less pain, and a shorter coalescence period: one day after the operation, the patient can take care of himself. One of Wang's patients, a pneumothorax sufferer, wanted to attend the college entrance examination, and after being operated on by Wang, made a full recovery in three days and was, as he had hoped, able to take part in the examination.

In addition to this innovative surgical technology, Wang Jun also invented China's pre-operation quantitative pulmonary function testing method by means of nuclein, which improved appreciably the level of safety coefficient assessment in thoracic surgical operations, narrowing the gap between China and the developed countries in this field. His thesis on pulmonary functions has been published in authoritative international magazines, and quoted in foreign thoracic surgery textbooks and monographs. In addition, Wang invented China's pulmonary emphysema surgery and the television mediastinoscopic operation branch. It can be clearly seen from documents over the past decade, that nearly every major development in China's thoracic surgery field is connected with Wang Jun.

Wang Jun's superb medical skill causes him constantly to be surrounded by patients, to whom his appearance brings a sense of hope, as well as great comfort, demonstrating their confidence in him. Current practice in China is for those who need a surgical operation first to find out which doctor is the best in the relevant field, and then to go and see him at his home, bearing a large sum of money. Wang Jun is such a doctor, hunted by numerous patients, but he never takes extra money. He is strict with himself, and always says to his young subordinates, "If you are arrogant and unapproachable to your patients, you may destroy our whole branch." He tells them that as patients are vulnerable, doctors should be extremely careful how they treat and talk to them. Taking good care of patients helps to win public praise, and a greater number of patients will then follow.

In Wang Jun's opinion, doctors are angels that pass on their love to everyone they treat, so they should have a strong sense of responsibility. No matter how busy he is, seeing patients is part of his daily routine, and if one day he does not appear, they will feel neglected.

"My wife says that I have everything now that others do not expect until they reach their fifties, but fame and wealth are no longer important to me. I just want to be doing something I really like -- that is enough," says Wang Jun. His deep love for his patients makes getting up at 6 o'clock every day, and performing sometimes five operations, entailing over ten hours in total, no hardship.