On May 27, 2024, Prof. Madjid Samii, a world-renowned leading authority in the field of neurosurgery, had a visit to Shenzhen Samii Medical Center (The Fourth People's Hospital of Shenzhen).Accompanying him was an elite team of neurosurgeons.

This picture was taken when Prof. Madjid Samii and his team arrived in Shenzhen on May 27th.

Prof. Madjid Samii is a world-renowned neurosurgery expert with German nationality, the Lifetime Honorary President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), the President of the International Neuroscience Institute (INI), Hannover, Germany, and the founder of the International Innovative Medical Solutions in Hannover (IIMS). As the first foreign neurosurgeon obtaining a medical license to practice in China, he has been granted the "Friendship Award" by the Chinese government and holds the title of "Honorary Citizen" of Shenzhen City. He enjoys an esteemed reputation in the field of neurosurgery worldwide and has been honored with the title of "Father of Skull Base Surgery".

The accompanying team members included Prof. Amir Samii, a neurosurgery expert and the Vice President of the International Neuroscience Institute (INI), Hannover, Germany, Dr. Mostafa Ghaffari, Dr. Mario Giordano, and Mr. Stefan Wagner.

In the front row, from left to right, are Prof. Madjid Samii, Prof. Amir Samii, and Dr. Mario Giordano. 

In the back row, from left to right, are Dr. Mostafa Ghaffari, Dr. Ethan Kholdebarin, and Mr. Stefan Wagner.

01. Host the medical engagements in our hospital for the first time, aiming to nurture future stars in neurosurgery as soon as possible.

Our hospital, jointly operated by the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission and a team led by Prof. Madjid Samii, Honorary President for Life of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), is the first and the only municipal public hospital jointly operated by Chinese and foreign sides in China.

During this visit, Prof. Madjid Samii's team conducted outpatient consultations and performed multiple surgeries at our hospitalfor the first time. This means patients could receive world-class medical services right at their doorstep without traveling abroad.

Prof.Madjid Samii's team is viewing a patient’s medical records.

Prof. Madjid Samii also placed a strong emphasis on exchanging ideas with neurosurgery experts in Shenzhen. On May 29th, our hospital hosted an exchange meeting for Prof. Madjid Samii and neurosurgeons. During the meeting, Prof. Madjid Samii expressed his desire to collaborate with the outstanding neurosurgeons to build an academic community aiming to foster a favorable academic atmosphere and facilitate the sharing of experience and techniques with each other, thereby contributing significantly to the health of patients in Shenzhen. He emphasized his plan to guide the establishment of an online platform for continuous communication and told the neurosurgeons not to hesitate to contact him immediately when encountering challenging cases, promising that he would assist in providing the best treatment plan for the patients. At the end of the meeting, he shared his surgical videos and provided a detailed explanation of the techniques and experience involved in the "vestibular schwannoma surgery." The participating experts said that such sharing was very helpful for enhancing their medical expertise. 

At the exchange meeting, Prof. Madjid Samii is sharing a video of a surgery he previously performed.

Meanwhile, Prof. Madjid Samii repeatedly encouraged our hospital's medical staff to devote more time and effort to learning. He stressed the importance of not only striving to improve clinical skills but also focusing on medical research. In his conversation with the neurosurgery staff of our hospital, he called for joint efforts to nurture young neurosurgeons as soon as possible so that they could provide higher quality medical services for local patients.

02 Being deeply engaged in frontline patient care and wholeheartedly dedicated to serving patients.

From May 28th to 29th and on June 1st, Prof. Madjid Samii provided consultations for a total of 43 outpatients. On the first day, the consultations, scheduled to conclude by 5:00 p.m., stretched until 8:30 p.m. Aside from a short break of less than an hour at noon, he and his team worked tirelessly, dedicating themselves fully to patient care without pause.

After leaving the consultation room in the evening, Prof. Madjid Samii, nearing his 90s, did not immediately take rest. Instead, he joined his team and went to the inpatient ward for rounds. They carefully assessed the conditions of hospitalized patients and gave preoperative instructions to a young woman scheduled for surgery the next day. This time, he would perform the surgery himself for the patient.

At 9:00 p.m. on the evening of May 28th, 

Prof. Madjid Samii, accompanied by his team, visited the patient who was scheduled for surgery the next day.

03. The esteemed specialist in vestibular schwannoma treatment personally performed surgery at our hospital for the first time.

Four months ago, the patient began experiencing numbness on the left side of her tongue, which later spread to the left corner of her mouth. A physician at a specific hospital diagnosed her with a vestibular schwannoma after analyzing imaging data and advised prompt surgery.

Vestibular schwannoma surgery is highly complex and carries significant risks. To make a careful decision, the patient sought medical attention from major hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities before finally coming to Shenzhen Samii Medical Center (The Fourth People's Hospital of Shenzhen) for treatment. After a joint consultation conducted by Prof. Madjid Samii and our hospital's neurosurgery team, it was decided to perform a surgery to remove the vestibular schwannoma with the patient being positioned in a semi-sitting posture.

Prof. Madjid Samii is globally recognized for his exceptional expertise and skills in the treatment of vestibular schwannoma. He pioneered the "semi-sitting position" surgery, where the patient is positioned semi-sitting rather than fully lying down during the operation. This posture helps reduce bleeding from the incision, provides a clearer view for the surgeon, facilitates the precise separation of the tumor from brain tissues, and aids in complete tumor removal while preserving nerve function. This surgery is highly challenging, and currently, only a few hospitals in Shenzhen are capable of performing it.

At 2:00 p.m. on May 29th, the surgery officially began. Prof. Madjid Samii, with steady hands as well as precise and decisive techniques, successfully removed the tumor from Ms. Li's brain in less than two hours. The intraoperative MRI showed that the facial and auditory nerves were preserved to the greatest extent, and the surgery was declared a success. This was the first successful surgery he performed at our hospital. Furthermore, from May 30th to May 31st, he completed four additional surgeries, successfully alleviating patients' suffering.

This picture is taken when Prof. Madjid Samii was performing surgery.

04 While there is a scheduled plan for Prof. Madjid Samii’s departure, the future is full of endless possibilities and potential. We aim to enhance collaboration in healthcare between China and international partners to benefit more patients.

On the afternoon of June 1st, Prof. Madjid Samii concluded his medical engagements at our hospital. However, out of caring about the well-being of local patients and ensuring ongoing exchanges with our hospital’s Neurosurgery Department, he instructed his two students, Dr. Mario Giordano and Mr. Stefan Wagner, to continue providing medical consultations to patients at our outpatient clinic. By noon on June 5th, these two foreign physicians collectively attended to 14 outpatients, in addition to the 43 patients consulted by Prof. Madjid Samii himself. Altogether, the German expert team attended to 57 outpatient cases during their visit. With this, Prof. Madjid Samii's team successfully completed their medical engagements at our hospital.

The engagements won’t stop. During the press conference on May 30th, Prof. Madjid Samii emphasized that members of his team will regularly participate in exchanges at Shenzhen Samii Medical Center in the future.

This picture is taken at the press conference on May 30th,

 where Prof. Madjid Samii engaged in discussions with various media outlets.

He further stressed that Shenzhen Samii Medical Center is equipped with excellent hardware facilities, and they have a top-notch medical team in Germany. They plan to send foreign experts on long-term assignments to Shenzhen and select outstanding young physicians to study advanced technologies in Hanover, Germany. This will promote significant development in medical education and research at the hospital. In the future, our hospital will actively engage in exchanges with the world and strengthen collaboration with Prof. Madjid Samii and his team. This effort aims to elevate our hospital's medical standards and bring hope to more patients' lives.

On Children's Day, June 1st, Prof. Madjid Samii warmly interacted with the children at our hospital's pediatric clinic, 

where he also presented them with gifts.