AWARDEE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND MATERIA MEDICA PRIZE

FENG CHUANHAN

Abstract

Feng Chuanhan, BS, MD, and Professor of Orthopaedics, was born in January 1914.  He graduated from Yenching University in 1936 and from Peking Union Medical College in 1940.  Then he pursued postgraduate training of orthopaedics and hand surgery in England from 1949 to 1950.
Dr. Feng assumed a number of leading positions including: chief physician, chief orthopaedic surgeon, deputy chief of Faculty of Medicine and hospital director of People's Hospital, Beijing Medical College. Subsequently, he was appointed vice director of Beijing Medical College, director of Beijing Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, adviser to the Research Center of Shoulder Surgery of Beijing Hospital and honorary professor of Medical School Qingdao University.  He was the president of the first session of Chinese Orthopaedic Society, chief editor of the Chinese Medical Journal (English Edition) and Australian Zimmer Travelling Professor of Orthopaedics of 1985.  He has been elected honorary member, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, corresponding fellow of Australian Orthopaedic Association and member of International Society of Surgery.  
In the field of clinical orthopaedics, he was the first to start pneumoarthrography of the knee, hand surgery, surgical treatment of anterior recurrent dislocation of shoulder and talocalcaneal bridge, and renovated design of shoulder fusion in China.  Dr. Feng and his associates made an unique design for reconstruction of the femoral neck after its complete resection for treating neoplasm of this location.  This work had been incorporated in Chao and Irvin's book on bone and joint reconstruction in 1983. Together with 2 other colleagues, he compiled and edited the book “Surgery of the Shoulder", which won the second class Science and Technology Progress Award of the Ministry of Health in 1998. 
In the middle 1950's, he began to do laboratory investigations and reported the first Chinese case of vitamin-D resistant rickets coexisting with neurofibromatosis.  In China, he pioneered the bacteriological observation in bone and joint tuberculosis under combined antituberculous drug therapy, which showed 68% TB positive, and the American Rheumatology Association had collected this report for yearly review.
In the last 2 decades Dr. Feng has been engaged in the research on the biology of giant cell tumor of bone.  The first part of the work, consisting of in vitro tissue culture and cinemicrographic study, won the First Class Prize of Scientific Achievement of Beijing Municipality in 1980.  Also, this was presented as presidential guest lecture at the 1982 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.  Again, The cellular biological, genetic and immunological study of giant tumor of bone  won the second class Science and Technology Prize of Ministry of Education in 1998.
For outstanding endeavor in medical education, Dr. Feng was awarded the Peach and Plum Prize by Beijing Medical University in 1987 and the Outstanding Teacher award by Beijing Municipality in 1988.