The Surgery Department
The Surgery Department at Seoul National University Hospital was opened in 1946, just after the country gained its independence. The Thoracic Surgery Division, the Neurosurgery Division, the Orthopedic Division, and the Plastic Surgery Division were separated from the Surgery Department in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Pediatric Surgery Division was established within the Surgery Department in 1978. As the field of surgery has expanded and become more specialized, the divisions of hepatobiliary pancreas surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, colon and anal surgery, breast endocrine surgery, and transplant vascular surgery were established as sub-specialties in our department in 2007.
As of 2020, our department consists of 31 professors, 7 medical professors, 26 clinical fellows, 43 residents, 7 office workers, 28 PAs, and 3 health workers, including department head Gyu-ju Park, and plays an active and leading role in various specialties. Reaching 147,555 outpatients and 12,180 surgical patients in 2019, the number of patients continues to increase every year, and our department has become the center of medical departments at Seoul National University Hospital.
In terms of student education, we have held Travel to the Body: Human Body and Surgery, which was a lecture for premedical students, integrated lectures for 2nd year medical students (oncology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, and ICM lectures), and a surgery practice lecture for 3rd year medical students. We’ve helped students get assigned with actual patients so that they can take part in diagnosis and treatment and work closely with a professor every week for the 1:1 session. We also exchange the latest knowledge in surgical science through various conferences including the Surgical Grand Round every week and strive to educate resident doctors.
In terms of research, we are committed to our work in challenging and progressive clinical and basic research through many laboratories at the Cancer Research Center and Clinical Trials Center of the College of Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital. In 2019 alone, 132 excellent papers by professors, clinical fellows, and residents were published in famous international academic journals.
The Surgery Department at Seoul National University Hospital has been a pioneer in the field of surgery in Korea up till now, and we will continue to do our best as we carry out our mission of delivering the best treatment for patients, conducting ceaseless research for the development of surgical science, and cultivating talent through high-quality medical education.