OUR VISION

The division of colon and rectal surgery in the Department of Surgery at Taipei Veterans General Hospital was founded in 1958. Under the leadership of directors, we have dominated the field of clinical practice, medical research and education. Facing with the current healthcare environment and the challenges of the future, there are still many aspects of work to do.

First, Development of New Techniques:

• We will develop the advanced technique of minimal invasive surgery including robotic-assisted surgery, single-port surgery, and transanal TME, etc.

Second, Improvement of Patient Care and Shared Decision Making:

• We hope the ERAS, standardized treatment plan could reduce the waiting days for admission; the use of pain control, reduce pain after the surgery, accelerate recovery; the initiative to remind patients for surveillance, especially for patient with high risk of cancer.

Third, Improvement of Patients' Outcome:

• Overall our five-year cancer specific survival is about 67% higher than those of other medical centers and national data. However, in stage IV disease, the outcome is about 16%. There is some room to be improved. We will focus on increasing metastasectomy according to MDT discussion and personalized treatment.

Fourth, Advance in Medical Research:

• For colorectal cancer: we will explore the underlying mechanisms for carcinogenesis and find druggable biomarkers to improve personalized medicine.
• For anorectal function: we try to find an effective way to deal with anorectal dysfunction, especially after surgery.
• For inflammatory bowel disease: we will establish multidisciplinary team care to care patients and pave the way for further research and education.
• Complete the clinical database for large-scale clinicopathological information to improve understanding of disease course and management. It's an essential bridge for bench-to-bedside study to increase understanding of important disease processes.

By Chief Chang SC in 2023