Microsurgical Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Tianjin Institute of Neurosurgery

The Microsurgical Neuroanatomy Laboratory of the Tianjin Institute of Neurosurgery was founded in 2007.  Its training programs are personally directed by Professor Tong Xiaoguang, Party Secretary and President of Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, and Director of the Tianjin Institute of Neurosurgery. As a distinguished neurosurgeon with profound academic expertise and extensive clinical experience, Professor Tong has taken a leading role in the laboratory’s development.  Integrating scientific research, education and clinical practice, the laboratory functions as a high level platform for neurosurgical education and surgical skills training.

Outfitted with state of the art facilities, the laboratory adopts internationally recognized training models while tailoring its programs to the clinical needs of Chinese neurosurgeons. It has built a standardized, systematic training framework. Over its 19 years of development, the laboratory has trained more than 500 neurosurgeons and postgraduate students nationwide, substantially improving their clinical and operative skills and gaining wide recognition across the neurosurgical community.

Keeping pace with advances in modern neurosurgery, the laboratory continues to expand its curriculum. Building on traditional microsurgical anatomy training, it has gradually introduced core courses covering cerebrovascular anastomosis and bypass techniques, neuroendovascular intervention, hybrid neurosurgery, and endoscopic skull base surgery.  It has also supported the establishment of neurosurgical laboratories in numerous hospitals nationwide. Collaborative laboratories and training centers have been set up in partnership with Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, and Tianjin University School of Medicine. These efforts facilitate the dissemination of advanced neurosurgical techniques and the cultivation of high caliber professionals across the country.

Centered on clinical techniques and grounded in neuroanatomy, the laboratory adopts an educational model that integrates hands on laboratory training with operative observation.  Its curriculum is systematic, standardized and practice oriented, enabling trainees to translate anatomical knowledge and laboratory acquired skills directly into clinical practice.

The laboratory currently provides 3 categories of training programs: a 6-month Standard Neuroanatomy Training Program, with intakes in March and September annually; a 3 to 6 month elective training program, where participants may select courses based on their individual training requirements; and a one month Thematic Training Program, which starts at the beginning of each month. All programs have limited intake, with further details available upon separate request.

In 2024, the Shenzhen Neurosurgical Technology Training and Innovation Center (Stanford University Subcenter, USA) was founded, further expanding the laboratory’s collaborative training network. In 2025, the laboratory cofounded the Head and Neck Surgical Anatomy Laboratory together with Tianjin Medical University and hosted the Huanhu Skull Base Anatomy Training Course, significantly enhancing specialized training for skull base and head and neck surgery.

Guided by the principles of inheritance, rigor and innovation, the laboratory will keep advancing education and training in microsurgical neurosurgery, cultivate high caliber neurosurgical professionals, and support the high quality development of neurosurgery in China.

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