Complex cases decided together — several specialties, one plan, and the reasoning written down.
The multidisciplinary team service of Chongqing West District Hospital brings the specialties that own each part of a difficult case into one conversation: plastic surgery, dermatology, anaesthesia, pathology, imaging, nursing, and oncology where it is relevant. The result is not a stack of separate opinions but one coordinated plan, together with the alternatives that were considered and the reasoning behind the recommendation.
Joint review reduces the chance of a plan that ignores something important. It does not remove risk, a consensus is not a certainty, and an urgent problem is never delayed for a meeting.
- Complex cases reviewed together
- Joint decisions, one written plan
- Urgent problems never delayed
- Tertiary-hospital safety net
A difficult case is decided in three steps, none of them skipped
Whether the answer turns out to be one operation, a staged reconstruction, or no operation at all, the way the decision is made in this centre does not change.
Assess the whole problem
The history, the examination, the imaging and the pathology if there is any are assembled before anything is proposed, and the question that actually needs answering is written down. A review that starts from a preferred operation is not a review.
Review it together
The specialties that own each risk discuss the same case at the same time, not in sequence. Where they disagree, the disagreement is recorded with the reasoning on each side rather than smoothed away, and the plan states which view was followed.
Record the decision
What leaves the room is one plan: what will be done, in what order, by whom, what else was considered, what is still uncertain, and the point at which the plan will be reviewed. It becomes a plan only when the patient agrees to it.
One case, several specialties, one recorded plan
The leadership of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center brings together reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, skin and laser care, and dermatology. Multidisciplinary review is how that team works on cases that cross specialty boundaries — not a separate service bolted onto it.
Shaoliang Wang, MD (王韶亮)
Center Director · Plastic Surgery
Center Director and the surgical lead for complex reconstruction: revision of failed operations from elsewhere, excision of skin tumours with margin control, complex wound repair, and the judgement of when a plan should not proceed. 20+ years of tertiary-hospital surgery.
View profile →
Tongchun Mao, MD (毛彤春)
Deputy Director · Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery
Deputy Director and head of aesthetic surgery; contributes the reconstructive and facial-surgery view to a complex case — what can be rebuilt, with what tissue, in what order, and what the result is likely to look like.
View profile →
Ke He, MD (何锞)
Deputy Director · Skin & Laser
Deputy Director and head of skin and laser aesthetics; contributes the skin-quality and scar-management view, including the laser-based aftercare a reconstruction or a scar may need once healing is established.
View profile →
Yongbo Jia, MD (贾勇波)
Deputy Director · Dermatology
Deputy Director and head of dermatology; contributes the dermatologic diagnosis and the perioperative skin assessment — what a lesion actually is, and whether the skin can support the plan that is proposed.
View profile →How joint review works — explained honestly
These guides are the education behind the process: what a multidisciplinary team is, which cases actually need one, who takes part, how a decision is reached and recorded, what a patient receives, and the limits that no amount of joint review removes.
What a Multidisciplinary Team Is, and How It Differs From Being Passed Between Clinics
A multidisciplinary team brings several specialists into one decision about one patient. This guide explains how that differs from sequential referrals, and why the difference matters.
Read the guide →Which Cases Actually Need an MDT
Not every problem needs a team meeting. This guide describes the situations where joint review genuinely changes the decision, and the ones where it does not.
Read the guide →Who Attends an MDT Meeting, and What Each Specialty Decides
The specialties that take part in a multidisciplinary review, the question each one answers, and why some of them are present mainly to say no.
Read the guide →How an MDT Actually Reaches a Decision
Evidence, experience, disagreement and the recording of consensus: how a multidisciplinary team moves from a room of opinions to one plan.
Read the guide →What You Actually Receive From an MDT
One coordinated plan, the alternatives that were considered, and the reasoning behind the recommendation: what a multidisciplinary review should give a patient.
Read the guide →Complex Reconstruction: How One Difficult Case Is Broken Down
A composite case showing how a single difficult reconstruction is divided between specialties, and why the sequence matters more than any individual step.
Read the guide →We will not sell you certainty we do not have
A joint decision is a better-reasoned decision, not a guaranteed one. Several experienced specialists agreeing does not make them right, and a group can share the same blind spot. Reconstruction can still fail, margins can still be incomplete, and a plan can still need revision once it meets a real patient rather than a description. We will tell you what was considered, what is still uncertain, and what would make us change the plan — including the possibility that the right answer is not to operate.
Start with a review, not a decision
Reach out to arrange an assessment. If your case is one that benefits from joint review, we will explain which specialties need to be involved, what the review will consider, and how much time the extra step is likely to take — including the possibility that the answer is not to operate at all.
Part of Coming from Overseas — 5 sites on this topic