The Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital was opened with the appointment of Director Su Yong Lee in February 1985. It has established itself as Korea’s best medical center specializing in the treatment of musculoskeletal tumors. In particular, Director Su Yong Lee, the former President of the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, is the pioneer of musculoskeletal tumor treatment in Korea. He has been succeeded by Directors Dae Geun Jeon, Wan Hyeong jo, Song Seok Song, Chang Bae Gong, and Sang Hyeon Jo.
In the latter part of the 1980s, the Department of Orthopedics introduced and successfully established the limb salvage technique and chemotherapy for malignant bone tumor for the first time in Korea.
Prior to this, the main surgical method for osteosarcoma had been amputation, and the survival rate was also low at below 20%. Today, however, limb salvage is performed on most patients, with the survival rate increasing to approximately 70%.
The Department of Orthopedics played a leading role in the establishment of the Korean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society in 1993. Directors Su Yong Lee, Dae Geun Jeon, and Wan Hyeong Jo served as the 5th, 13th, and 20th presidents of the society, respectively.
The department provides the most appropriate care according to patients’ conditions based on the experiences it has accumulated over the last 37 years by treating approximately 10,000 bone and soft tissue tumor patients and around 2,000 osteosarcoma patients.
Having published 130 papers in domestic journals and 110 papers in international (SCI class) journals, the department has also produced scientific achievements that are on a par with those of the world’s leading tumor centers.
Since 1986, the medical staff of the Department of Orthopedics have been dispatched overseas to Japan and Sri Lanka, etc. for participation in the training course of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In addition, almost every year, it has carried out activities overseas by participating in conferences and forums.
The department’s medical team currently consists of five musculoskeletal tumor specialists, the largest number in Korea, along with residents and nurses. Treating approximately 15,000 outpatients and 1,800 inpatients each year, the department performs more than 800 cancer surgeries.
This is equivalent to treating about half the malignant musculoskeletal tumor patients in Korea. The department maintains its reputation by training around 30 residents every year from ten university hospitals in Korea.