Sept. 19 — Dr. Ding Yiqun, Director of Pediatric Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, received the 10th "Golden Lancet Award" at a ceremony in Beijing, becoming the only physician in Shenzhen to earn the honor.The award, one of China's most authoritative recognitions in surgery, marks a fitting tribute to a specialist who has spent 33 years in medicine and personally performed more than 10,000 pediatric cardiac operations.

Shenzhen's Only Recipient: A Leap in Care Behind 10,000 Surgeries

The Golden Lancet Award is presented by a media outlet under People's Daily, honoring roughly 10 physicians each year under a stringent selection process that weighs candidates' breakthrough clinical achievements and industry influence above all. Ding was the sole Shenzhen doctor selected.

Over 33 years in practice, Ding has led more than 10,000 pediatric cardiac surgeries. Before he transferred to Shenzhen from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in 2015, most children with complex congenital heart disease in the city had to travel to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou for treatment. Recruited that year as a Shenzhen Class I Applied Clinical Medical Talent, he performed 405 surgeries in his first year, then 603 in 2017 and more than 700 by 2019. What stands out even more than the numbers is the complexity: procedures such as Norwood Stage I, Yamagishi, Nikaidoh, Ross and Ross-Konno — offered at only a handful of medical centers nationwide — have become routine in Shenzhen. Under his leadership, neonatal cases once accounted for 18.18 percent of his department's surgical volume, among the highest in China. These results have earned Ding such honors as Shenzhen Model Worker, one of Shenzhen's Top Ten Outstanding Contributors to Health, National Advanced Worker in the Health System, and National Advanced Worker.

His strong surgical success rates and outcomes in total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) have also taken Ding to the podium of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) annual meeting four consecutive times, and he was elected an AATS member in 2023. In China's congenital heart surgery field, physicians of his caliber are exceedingly rare.