Department of Otolaryngology

Founded in 1947, the Department is the birthplace of otorhinolaryngology in Guangdong Province and consistently ranks among the top-tier departments in China in terms of comprehensive strength. The Otolaryngology department holds multiple prestigious designations: National Clinical Key Specialty, Guangdong Branch Center of the National Clinical Research Center for Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, National Key Discipline under the Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Key Specialty and Guangdong Provincial High-Level Clinical Key Specialty, National Clinical Drug Trial Base, Throat Endoscopy Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Training Center authorized by the National Health Commission and the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, leading unit for the Otorhinolaryngology Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Service Project for County-Level People's Hospitals in Guangdong Province, and the affiliated unit of the Sun Yat-sen University Hearing and Speech Institute. Currently, it serves as the Chair Unit of the Otorhinolaryngology Physician Branch of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association and the Former Chair Unit of the Otorhinolaryngology Branch of the Guangdong Medical Association.
The Department of Otolaryngology is the largest otorhinolaryngology diagnosis and treatment center in Guangdong Province in terms of scale and patient volume. It handles over 120,000 outpatient visits, admits more than 7,000 inpatients, and performs nearly 6,000 surgeries annually. The proportion of Grade III/IV surgeries exceeds 84%, with Grade IV surgeries accounting for nearly 35%, all ranking first in South China. From 2009 to 2019, it consistently ranked among the top 3 in South China in the Fudan University Hospital Specialties Ranking, receiving a national nomination in 2016. From 2013 to 2019, its ranking in the Chinese Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) remained stable between 12th and 20th nationwide. In the 2015 Peking University Hospital Specialties Ranking, it placed 15th nationally. In the 2020 Chinese Hospital Influence Ranking (Specialty), it ranked 13th nationwide.
The department is divided into four subspecialties: Otology, Vertigo, Rhinology, and Laryngology & Head and Neck Surgery. It has a staff of 35 physicians, 58 nurses, and 14 technicians. The physician team includes 10 professors/chief physicians, 12 associate chief physicians, 7 lecturers/attending physicians, and 6 resident physicians. Among them, there are 10 doctoral supervisors and 16 master's supervisors. Seventy percent of the physicians hold doctoral degrees, and 90% hold master's degrees. Nine physicians have overseas study experience of one year or more.

Scientific Research Results

The department has secured 30 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and over 60 provincial and ministerial-level research grants, with cumulative research funding exceeding 40 million RMB. It has published more than 170 SCI-indexed papers and contributed to the formulation of over 20 domestic expert consensus documents or clinical guidelines. The department has received awards including one Second Prize and one Third Prize of the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Achievement Award, one Third Prize of the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Achievement Award, one Science and Technology Award from the Guangdong Preventive Medicine Association, and has been granted over 30 patents and utility models.
Faculty members have contributed as co-authors to the national planning textbook Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery for seven-year and eight-year clinical medicine programs in higher medical institutions. They have served as chief editors of the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" national undergraduate audiology textbook Overview of Otorhinolaryngological Diseases and as deputy chief editors of Diagnostic Audiology. The department also led the translation of Head and Neck Malignancies: A Multidisciplinary Collaborative Diagnosis and Treatment Model (published by the People's Medical Publishing House). Additionally, faculty members have authored professional monographs such as Endoscopic Neck Surgery (supported by the Guangdong Provincial Outstanding Scientific and Technological Monograph Fund), Robotic Head and Neck Surgery (supported by the National Science and Technology Academic Works Publishing Fund), Endoscopic Ear Anatomy and Surgical Techniques (supported by the National Science and Technology Academic Works Publishing Fund), and Endoscopic Ear Diagnosis and Therapeutics.
The department's faculty has received numerous provincial and municipal-level talent accolades, including "Outstanding Instructor in the Chinese Medical Students' Skills Competition," "Outstanding Young Medical Talent of Guangdong Province," "High-Level Talent of Guangdong Province," and "Outstanding Mid-Career Physician of Guangzhou." In the 2021 ranking of the top 100 Chinese otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery experts by international academic influence, Professor Zheng Yiqing ranked 21st, and Professor Huang Xiaoming ranked 50th.
The department is authorized by the Ministry of Education to confer master's and doctoral degrees and hosts a postdoctoral research program. It has trained nearly 10 postdoctoral researchers, over 30 doctoral students, and more than 150 master's students. The department is responsible for theoretical instruction and clinical practicums for the five-year undergraduate and eight-year clinical medicine programs, as well as the undergraduate and seven-year stomatology programs at Sun Yat-sen University. It has received more than ten awards, including the "Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award" and the provincial-level elite course Otorhinolaryngology. Trainees in the standardized residency program have also achieved first place in the team category of the "First Guangdong Medical Doctor Association Otorhinolaryngology Standardized Residency Clinical Skills Competition."