The ancients said: “A doctor has to be benevolent, smart, reasonable and honest so that he can be entrusted, appointed and trusted.” From ancient to modern times, numerous doctors have proved and fulfilled the kindheartedness of doctors and the ideal of practicing medicine to help the people with their practices. Liu Zheng, a 37-year-old Doctor of Medicine and Associate Chief Physician of Department of Orthopedics in Peking University Shougang Hospital, is such a doctor. He remembers when he was admitted to and began to study in medical college, he once swore solemnly that he would “devote to medicine voluntarily, love the motherland, be loyal to the people, strictly abide by medical ethics, and work hard.” Being a doctor for over 10 years, he has always remembered the responsibility that “health is of the primary importance of human beings” and been a benevolent, skillful and kindhearted doctor who is trusted by patients.

Study Hard to Lay a Foundation

When Liu Zheng was young, his father had a fractured left lower limb and had a successful operation by a doctor. Liu Zheng, who had witnessed the greatness of a doctor, achieved his goal after the college entrance examination and had a good study of clinical medicine in the Second Military Medical University for 5 years.

After graduation, Liu Zheng decided to study further. Although Chinese Peking Union Medical College recruited only 2 master students of clinical medicine that year, he achieved what he wished again and majored in orthopedics in Department of Surgery with Professor Shen Jianxiong, a Chinese famous expert in spinal surgery, as his tutor. After entering the top medical college in China, he drew into the library of Chinese Peking Union Medical College to check information and read professional books, forgetting everything. He was meticulous in clinical treatment and treated every patient with sincerity. In virtue of a solid foundation of knowledge, rich professional attainment and a strong sense of mission of devoting to medicine, he became a doctoral student successfully and took lessons from Academician Qiu Guixing. During the 5 years in Chinese Peking Union Medical College, he was eager to learn and study the medical knowledge of spine, observed carefully every operation to enrich his professional knowledge and improve his clinical operation skills.

In 2012, Liu Zheng, who got a doctor’s degree at Chinese Peking Union Medical College, entered Peking University Shougang Hospital and engaged in clinical work in Department of Orthopedics. Finishing internship rotation and accumulated a lot of practical experience during the successive study of postgraduate and doctoral programs, he became an independent bedside clinician of Department of Orthopedics of Shougang Hospital and found that the technology of spine profession in Shougang Hospital was relatively backward, so he decided to focus on it to strengthen this field. Zhang Guangwu, director of Department of Orthopedics, gave affirmation to his idea and encouraged him to improve the level and make an achievement. With the care and guidance of the director of the department and the support of his colleagues, he concentrated on his work. As an attending physician, he was not afraid of hardship of patrolling the ward, discussing the condition, performing the operation, and working the night shifts, and had the courage to pay. In order to expand the influence of the spine profession and facilitate patient treatment, he applied to the director of the department for additional free outpatient services on Saturday. For a better understanding of the changes in patients’ conditions, as long as he was not on a business trip and was in Beijing, he would make the rounds of the wards on Saturdays and Sundays as usual, and persisted with it in spite of the weather. After working in Shougang Hospital for 5 years, Liu Zheng, who was an attending physician, has become the youngest associate chief physician, associate professor, and master tutor at Peking University and assistant director of the hospital. He said: “Thanks for the recognition given by the hospital of my work. I will do my best to serve patients and contribute to the development of the hospital.”

Practice “Internal Skills” Diligently and Tirelessly

Located in the middle of the back of human body, the spine supports a person to stand straightly, and features weight bearing, shock absorption, movement and other functions.  Once the spine has been bent and paralyzed, the human spirit is gone. It will be endless pain for individuals and families.  There are two types of operation in the industry that doctors don’t dare to perform easily: One is both ends of the spine, namely, atlantoaxial vertebrae and pelvisacrum; the other is scoliosis. The former may result in death, and the latter may result in paralysis. That’s why spine surgery is the top of the orthopedics professional field. Through his continuous explorations in spine surgery field, Liu Zheng has tried his best with excellent skills to help patients avoid tragedies of paralysis and being confined to bed.

In the second year of his work at Shougang Hospital, Liu Zheng met with Professor Chen Zhongqiang, a well-known expert in spine surgery in China, and Professor Chen served as the director of Shougang Hospital. Becoming the first assistant in Professor Chen’s operation, he performed operations with Professor Chen and got his careful guidance. Liu Zheng seemed to have entered the real class of spine surgery and got in contact with many extreme cases. His independent operation level also improved noticeably through cooperation with Professor Chen in many difficult operations.

As a spinal surgeon, Liu Zheng completes nearly 300 of various spine operations each year. The scalpel in his hand is often on the edge of the patient’s important nerves, so he must be very cautious. He works diligently and tirelessly, and studies hard to deepen his inner skills. He cautions himself like this, “The more knowledgeable and skillful the doctor is, the more beneficial it is to the patients and the less the potential risk there is.”

Under the support of “Young Doctor Capacity Upgrading Program” of Shougang Hospital, Liu Zheng went to learn foreign advanced technology of spine surgery in Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at University of Sassari in Italy. After returning, he met more clinical practices, more academic exchanges and more comprehensive disease challenges. Last year, he completed a one-stage anterior and posterior approach for an 81-year-old patient with cervical spine fracture and dislocation, which was the first of such operation in the hospital. It was perfect and was highly praised by the patient and his family. Liu Zheng has also continued to explore new operation methods, popularize minimally invasive decompression and fixed fusion for lumbar spine in Department of Orthopedics and reduce the size of the cut in spine operation from more than 10 centimeters to about 4 centimeters. He and his colleagues have successfully completed a number of cases of difficult operation, creating many “firsts in the hospital.” The number of spinal operation of Department of Orthopedics has also increased rapidly from about 30 in the previous years to more than 400 each year with the diseases covering almost all kinds of spinal operations.

Having engaged in spinal surgery for 14 years, Liu Zheng is skilled in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of various common spinal diseases, especially in the treatment of lumbar degenerative scoliosis and minimally invasive surgery of the cervical and lumbar spine. He is interested in becoming an academic doctor who is fully developed in clinical, scientific research and teaching. In addition to developing strong clinical skills, he has also improved his academic level through scientific research, teaching, and publication of academic papers. At present, he has participated in the compilation of 8 translation works, published more than 10 papers, including 2 SCI articles, and presided over Beijing Outstanding Young Talent Project, Wu Jieping Medical Foundation Project, and scientific research projects at hospital level.

Recovery of Patients is the Highest Evaluation

The protrusion of the 4th and 5th segments of a female patient, who was born in the 1980s and diagnosed with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion by Liu Zheng, was so serious that it required an operation. Liu Zheng carefully explained X-rays and the symptoms of lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion to the patient and gave medical advice on treatment of minimally invasive surgery through intervertebral  foraminoscopy. Later, he communicated with the patient through WeChat for several times about the procedure, risks and postoperative attention of the minimally invasive surgical through intervertebral foraminoscopy, allowing the patient to be  fully prepared for the problems and risks that might occur during operation. As for this, he said: “It is a very serious proposition for a doctor to try his best to help patients face correctly and choose carefully the operation.”

Liu Zheng conducted the operation of extirpation of lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion through intervertebral foraminoscopy. On the third day after operation, the patient could walk freely and felt relaxed. Liu Zheng also sent postoperative rehabilitation exercise videos through WeChat to the patient who recuperated at home. The patient was deeply moved and wrote an article about her treatment experience in Shougang Hospital titled “An Inner Monologue of a Patient with Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Protrusion” and published it on the Internet to tell other patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion: “Do not hesitate to have an operation, as there is a group of doctors who are professional, enthusiastic, conscientious and responsible around us. After the operation in Shougang Hospital, the pain in the past has gone, and the quality my life has improved. The skill and medical ethics of Doctor Liu Zheng who performed the operation are pretty good. I completely trust him.”

What patients want most is a trustworthy doctor, and Liu Zheng has won the trust of patients with his benevolence. As one of the young members of the department, he works at full capacity. He performs 2 to 3 operations a day, 3 days a week. The difficulties of operations are basically grade 3 to 4. It takes more than 1 hour to perform simple operations, and at least 5 to 6 hours to perform complex operations with large amount of bleeding. It is a “normal” pace for him to work over 10 hours a day and 80 hours a week.

Liu Zheng regularly offers outpatient services every Monday morning. When there are patients who come for reexamination after operation, patients with severe illness using crutches or in the wheelchair, or patients who come to Beijing for treatment from other places, he will inquire carefully, and write neatly the doctor’s advices in the medical record one by one, making patients feel warm. A family member of a patient said: “As Doctor Liu is so careful and considerate, we feel assured and relieved.” With the company of his family members, an elderly patient suffering from a severe spinal cord injury specially found Liu Zheng for treatment and operation. When the old man was admitted to hospital, he was unable to turn over by himself and move his wrist and fingers, and suffered from accompanying hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Although the operation was risky, the old man recovered well after the excellent operation of Liu Zheng with the meticulous care of medical staff. Two weeks after the operation, when the old man came to the hospital for reexamination, he could hold the bowl and eat by himself. With the unremitting efforts of Liu Zheng and medical and nursing staff in  Department of Orthopedics, more and more patients with cervical and lumbar diseases have regained fitness in Shougang Hospital, and more and more people have been attracted and come to Liu Zheng for medical treatment and surgical treatment.

If you don’t know something, you may hurt your patients and feel regretful. Liu Zheng said it is doctors’ duty to save lives. He has “performed the oath on engaging in medicine and remained true to his original inspiration.” He will keep learning in the field of orthopedics and spinal surgery and never stop.