Building Specialty Excellence and Innovation: High-Quality Development to Protect Women's and Children's Health

Background

Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center has focused on building specialty excellence and strengthening innovation as part of high-quality development to protect women's and children's health. The center, a major public tertiary facility in southern China, integrates clinical care, scientific research, and education while handling high volumes of complex pediatric and obstetric cases from Guangdong Province, the broader Central South region, and beyond.

It has been designated a National Children's Medical Center and maintains strengths across multiple disciplines. Recent advancements reflect ongoing efforts to apply minimally invasive technologies and gene therapies to rare and challenging conditions in infants and children.

What was achieved

Pediatric surgery teams completed the nation's first Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery in an extremely low-birth-weight young infant. The same department also performed the first single-port robotic radical choledochal cyst excision in children.

The gene therapy team achieved the world's first Asian-donor autologous gene-corrected treatment for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). These procedures were highlighted in hospital reporting as milestones in pediatric specialty development. The center has previously documented experience with Da Vinci robotic systems in small infants, including Guangdong's first robotic-assisted vascular ring correction in a 6-month-old patient weighing 7.5 kg, as well as multiple cases of single-port robotic approaches for choledochal cysts.

Related work includes collaboration on hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy (HSCGT) for MLD, with documented treatment of international cases such as a Swedish toddler who received autologous gene-modified stem cell transplantation and showed neurological stabilization.

How it works

Da Vinci robotic surgery uses a master-slave robotic platform. The surgeon sits at a console and manipulates controls that translate hand movements to robotic arms inserted through small incisions (typically 8 mm or less). The system provides a magnified three-dimensional high-definition view inside the body and instruments with wrist-like articulation that filter out natural hand tremor and allow greater dexterity than traditional laparoscopy or open surgery. In small infants with limited thoracic or abdominal space, this enables precise dissection, vessel handling, or excision with reduced trauma compared to larger open incisions of 3-4 cm.

Single-port robotic variants consolidate all instruments through one small incision, often at the umbilicus, further minimizing scarring while maintaining the enhanced visualization and maneuverability. For choledochal cyst excision, surgeons remove the abnormal bile duct dilatation and reconstruct biliary-intestinal continuity, typically with a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.

Autologous gene-corrected therapy for MLD addresses deficiency of the arylsulfatase A (ARSA) enzyme caused by ARSA gene mutations. This leads to sulfatide accumulation and progressive myelin damage in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Patient hematopoietic stem cells are collected, a functional ARSA gene is inserted ex vivo using a lentiviral vector, the patient undergoes conditioning to clear bone marrow space, and the gene-corrected cells are reinfused. The modified cells engraft and produce the enzyme, enabling cross-correction in neural tissues to slow or stabilize disease progression.

What it means for international patients

The hospital has experience providing advanced pediatric care to overseas patients, including a child from Sweden treated with gene-modified autologous stem cell transplantation for MLD who was discharged after successful engraftment and reported symptom stabilization. It operates within a system that supports international medical services.

International patients seeking robotic pediatric surgery or gene therapy for conditions such as MLD or complex congenital anomalies should confirm current eligibility, availability, and requirements directly with the hospital. Individual suitability depends on specific clinical criteria, disease stage, and regulatory considerations at the time of application.

About the hospital

Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, also known as Guangzhou Medical University Affiliated Women and Children's Medical Center, is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. It is a public tertiary grade A specialized hospital integrating medical treatment, prevention, healthcare, research, and teaching. It has been designated a National Children's Medical Center and serves as a regional referral center for complex pediatric and women's health cases.

The center operates multiple campuses with thousands of beds and reports annual volumes including approximately 4.89 million outpatient and emergency visits, 167,000 discharges, 120,000 surgeries, and 30,000 deliveries (2025 data). It holds eight national clinical key specialties and is recognized for strengths in pediatric surgery, cardiology, neonatology, hematology, and rare disease management. It leads nationally among children's hospitals in areas such as pediatric heart transplantation (approximately 19-22 cases reported in recent years) and has performed Da Vinci robotic surgeries covering more than 50 disease types with cumulative case numbers exceeding 1,000. Pediatric surgery has ranked fourth nationally in relevant reputational lists.