Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Kaohsiung was established in January 1986. Presently, it has grown to a 2,438-bed world-class medical center with 4,100 dedicated staff delivering health services to an average of 6,900 out-patient and 350 emergency patients daily. It has evolved to be one of centers of excellence in medical service, education, and research in Taiwan.

We are a non-profit, patient-centered, service-oriented institution focused on promoting social welfare. Our mission centers on service, training, and research. Our ultimate goal is to the best in whatever endeavor that we do.

Visions

1. To pursue and offer the best quality medical care applying cutting-edge technology to our patients with the highest ethical, moral, and humane standards.
2. To develop life-long dedication to education and training technology-competent health professionals.
3. To excel in medical research and technology, as well as, in international collaborations and communication.
4. To be socially responsive to the needs of both local and international communities through outreach programs and community service.

A. Liver transplantation. The director of the liver transplantation program, Prof. Chao-Long Chen, performed the first liver transplantation in Taiwan in March 1984. The recipient is the first successful liver transplantation in Asia. The first liver transplantation also pushed for the creation of a consensus and legislation on organ donation in Taiwan, particularly on the definition of brain death for organ transplantation. Up until August 2005, we have performed a total of 315 liver transplantations; of these, 228 were living donor liver transplantations. All donors have returned to their previous healthy lifestyle. We have achieved a recipient 1-year survival rate of 97.3%, and a 5-year survival rate of 93.4%, one of the highest survival rates in the world.

C. Stroke treatment. A multidisciplinary acute stroke team composed of neurologist, interventional radiologists, emergency physicians provides stroke patients early interventional therapy within 3-6 hours upon onset of symptoms. The team uses intravenous tissue plasminogen activator and intraarterial urokinase. This service is available 24 hours to patients.

E. Voice reconstruction. A novel surgical procedure for voice rehabilitation using a paramedian approach to arytenoid adduction and strap muscle transposition for vocal fold medialization was developed by Prof. Chih-Ying Su. The first voice reconstruction center in Taiwan was established in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in 1993.

In addition to the outstanding subspecialties mentioned, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital has also excelled in the fields of kidney transplantation, heart transplantation, cornea transplantation, microsurgical reconstruction, psychiatry, diagnostic imaging, sports medicine, integrated hepatoma treatment, and child and adolescent medicine. Special areas that are presently being developed include clinical skills simulating center, cancer center, tropical medicine, minimally invasive surgery, and sleep disorders.

The hospital is also renowned in the field of medical research which included multidisciplinary approaches in musculoskeletal shockwave, reproductive medicine, liver transplantation and bioartificial liver, inflammation and regeneration, gene therapy, neuroscience, etc.

International medical service

The liver transplantation team in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital led by, its program director and now hospital superintendent, Prof. Chao-Long Chen was invited by Shinshu University in Japan to supervise its first living donor liver transplantation case in 1990. The recipient is now the longest surviving living donor liver transplant in Japan. Prof. Chen and his team have been also invited and performed living donor liver transplantations in the Philippine National Kidney and Transplant Center (1996), Peking University (2001), and the Beijing Union Hospital (2002).

The liver transplant program offers its expertise in living donor liver transplantation to international patients. So far we have performed liver transplants in 1 Japanese, 1 South African, 7 Filipino, and 1 Vietnamese patients with 100% actual survival. All are back in their respective countries doing well.

The Craniofacial Center has participated in 17 overseas medical-surgical missions during the past 3 years in Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and the Philippines.

With regards to international education and training, liver transplant surgeons from around Taiwan and the world came to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital to visit the liver transplant unit and for short-term training. Aside from this, since April 1998, the liver transplantation program has fully trained 58 foreign transplant surgeons from Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and America. In addition, 10 foreign plastic surgeons trained with the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

According to a statistical analysis report from the Medical Library of the National Taiwan University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Kaohsiung ranked No. 5 in the top 10 medical centers in Taiwan based on SCI academic papers (1999-2003). In 2004, the hospital ranked 4th place.

Important research achievements were greatly contributed by Prof. Ching-Jen Wang’s group in shockwave, bone and tissue regeneration, Prof. Chao-Long Chen’s group in liver transplantation, Prof. Ko-En Huang’s group in reproductive medicine, and Prof. Kuen-Der Yang’s group in immune response to inflammation and tissue regeneration. Moreover, the liver transplantation program has collaboration with leading universities in the world as Hiroshima University (Japan), Nagoya University (Japan), Josai International University (Japan), Queensland University (Australia), and the University of Minnesota (USA).