About Prof. Cai Wei
Prof. Cai Wei (蔡威) is Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and one of China's most distinguished and internationally recognized authorities on pediatric surgery, neonatal surgery, and clinical nutrition. Based at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine — one of China's premier academic medical centers and a nationally recognized center of excellence in pediatric medicine, neonatology, and pediatric surgery — Prof. Cai has dedicated his career to two intertwined missions: advancing the surgical management of the most complex and life-threatening congenital anomalies in neonates and infants, and establishing clinical nutrition as a foundational discipline in Chinese medicine, with particular focus on the nutritional support of critically ill neonates, surgical patients, and patients with intestinal failure.
Prof. Cai's election to the Chinese Academy of Engineering — China's highest honor in engineering and applied sciences, awarded to individuals whose work has had transformative impact on technology, medicine, or industry — reflects the extraordinary breadth and depth of his contributions to Chinese medicine. He is one of a very small number of surgeons in China to have achieved this distinction, and his election recognizes not only his surgical achievements but his foundational role in establishing clinical nutrition as a scientific discipline in China, developing national standards for parenteral and enteral nutrition support, and building the evidence base for nutritional intervention in critically ill patients that has directly improved outcomes for millions of patients across China.
Clinically, Prof. Cai's expertise encompasses the full spectrum of neonatal and pediatric surgery, with particular depth in the surgical management of congenital gastrointestinal anomalies, intestinal failure and short bowel syndrome, biliary atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, esophageal atresia, anorectal malformations, and abdominal wall defects. He is also one of China's leading authorities on intestinal transplantation and the multidisciplinary management of patients with irreversible intestinal failure. His clinical nutrition program at Xinhua Hospital is a national referral center for patients with complex nutritional needs, including neonates and children with intestinal failure, patients with short bowel syndrome, and patients requiring long-term home parenteral nutrition.
Hospital Affiliation: Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Xinhua Hospital (新华医院), affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, is one of Shanghai's largest and most respected academic medical centers and a national leader in pediatric medicine, neonatology, pediatric surgery, and clinical nutrition. The Department of Pediatric Surgery at Xinhua Hospital is a national key clinical specialty, and its neonatal surgery and intestinal rehabilitation programs are among the most active and experienced in China. The hospital's clinical nutrition center — co-founded and led by Prof. Cai — is a national demonstration center for clinical nutrition support and has been the site of landmark research that has shaped Chinese national guidelines for parenteral and enteral nutrition.
The hospital's neonatal surgery program is supported by a dedicated neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with advanced respiratory support, a neonatal surgical suite with specialized equipment for minimally invasive neonatal surgery, a multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation team, and a home parenteral nutrition program that supports patients with long-term intestinal failure in the community. The department maintains active research collaborations with pediatric surgery and clinical nutrition centers in the United States, France, Germany, and Australia, and has been the site of numerous national and international clinical trials in neonatal surgery and clinical nutrition.
Clinical Expertise
- Neonatal gastrointestinal surgery — esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) — primary repair, staged repair, and thoracoscopic repair; duodenal atresia and stenosis; jejunoileal atresia; malrotation and midgut volvulus — emergency Ladd's procedure; Hirschsprung's disease — pull-through procedures (Swenson, Soave, Duhamel); anorectal malformations — posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP); necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) — surgical management and intestinal rehabilitation; meconium ileus and meconium peritonitis
- Biliary atresia and cholestatic liver disease — Kasai portoenterostomy; timing optimization for Kasai procedure; management of post-Kasai complications; coordination with hepatology and liver transplantation for patients with progressive liver disease; biliary atresia splenic malformation (BASM) syndrome
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) — surgical repair of CDH via open and minimally invasive approaches; management of pulmonary hypertension in CDH; ECMO coordination for severe CDH; long-term follow-up of CDH survivors including pulmonary, nutritional, and neurodevelopmental outcomes
- Abdominal wall defects — gastroschisis — primary and staged closure; omphalocele — primary repair and staged closure for giant omphalocele; management of associated anomalies; long-term nutritional and developmental follow-up
- Intestinal failure and short bowel syndrome — multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation; parenteral nutrition optimization and weaning; enteral nutrition advancement; bowel lengthening procedures (STEP, Bianchi); intestinal transplantation evaluation and coordination; management of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD/IFALD); home parenteral nutrition program
- Minimally invasive pediatric surgery — laparoscopic and thoracoscopic approaches for neonatal and pediatric surgical conditions; laparoscopic pyloromyotomy for hypertrophic pyloric stenosis; laparoscopic appendectomy; thoracoscopic repair of esophageal atresia and CDH; laparoscopic pull-through for Hirschsprung's disease
- Clinical nutrition support — parenteral nutrition (PN) formulation and management for neonates, children, and adults; enteral nutrition support; nutritional assessment and monitoring; management of refeeding syndrome; nutritional support in critical illness, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and post-surgical patients; home parenteral and enteral nutrition; nutritional pharmacology
- Pediatric oncology surgery — Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma); neuroblastoma; hepatoblastoma; rhabdomyosarcoma; coordination with pediatric oncology for multimodal treatment; nutritional support during chemotherapy and radiation
- Expert second opinion — review of imaging, surgical records, and nutritional assessment for neonates and children with complex congenital anomalies, intestinal failure, or complex nutritional needs; written English-language second opinion reports available through CMCS
Academic Leadership & Research Contributions
Prof. Cai Wei is one of the most prolific and internationally impactful researchers in pediatric surgery and clinical nutrition in China. He has authored and co-authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications in Chinese and international journals, including contributions to Journal of Pediatric Surgery, Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN), Clinical Nutrition, Gut, Pediatric Surgery International, and Chinese Medical Journal. His research has focused on the pathophysiology and management of intestinal failure and short bowel syndrome in neonates and children, the development and optimization of pediatric parenteral nutrition formulations, the role of gut microbiota in intestinal rehabilitation, the outcomes of bowel lengthening procedures, the management of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease, and the development of national standards for clinical nutrition support in China.
Prof. Cai has served as editor-in-chief and editorial board member of multiple Chinese pediatric surgery and clinical nutrition journals, and has been a principal investigator on major national research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the National Key Research and Development Program, and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission. He is a past president of the Chinese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (CSPEN) and has served on the scientific advisory boards of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). He has been a keynote speaker at ASPEN, ESPEN, the International Pediatric Surgical Congress, and the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) annual meeting, and is recognized globally as one of the most influential voices in clinical nutrition and pediatric surgery.
Prof. Cai has trained more than 150 pediatric surgery and clinical nutrition fellows and residents who now lead programs across China, and his intellectual legacy is embedded in the clinical practice of an entire generation of Chinese pediatric surgeons and clinical nutritionists. He has received numerous national honors for his contributions to Chinese medicine, including the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and is recognized by his peers as one of the defining figures of modern Chinese pediatric surgery and clinical nutrition.
Why International Patients Choose Prof. Cai Wei
For international families with a neonate or infant diagnosed with a complex congenital gastrointestinal anomaly — including esophageal atresia, biliary atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or intestinal atresia — the choice of surgeon and institution is the most consequential decision they will make. The outcomes of neonatal surgery for complex congenital anomalies are highly dependent on the experience and case volume of the surgical team, the quality of the neonatal intensive care unit, and the integration of the multidisciplinary team. Prof. Cai's program at Xinhua Hospital is one of a small number of centers in Asia with the case volume, surgical expertise, and multidisciplinary infrastructure to offer outcomes comparable to the world's leading pediatric surgery centers.
For families dealing with intestinal failure and short bowel syndrome — whether in a neonate following NEC or intestinal atresia, or in an older child or adult following extensive bowel resection — Prof. Cai's intestinal rehabilitation program at Xinhua Hospital offers a level of expertise, multidisciplinary integration, and research-driven care that is genuinely rare. His program's experience with bowel lengthening procedures, parenteral nutrition optimization, and the management of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease provides a pathway to intestinal autonomy for patients who might otherwise face lifelong parenteral nutrition dependence or intestinal transplantation.
For patients and families seeking expert consultation on complex clinical nutrition needs — including patients with inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, critical illness, or post-surgical malnutrition who are not receiving adequate nutritional support — Prof. Cai's clinical nutrition program offers a level of expertise and evidence-based practice that is among the highest in Asia. Treatment costs at Xinhua Hospital are substantially lower than equivalent care in Western healthcare systems, and the speed of access to specialist consultation and multidisciplinary team review is typically far faster than in public healthcare systems abroad. CMCS has coordinated neonatal surgery and clinical nutrition consultations for patients and families from North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East through Prof. Cai's team at Xinhua Hospital.
What to Expect at Your Consultation
Consultations with Prof. Cai begin with a comprehensive review of all prior medical records — including prenatal ultrasound and MRI findings for fetal anomalies, postnatal imaging (X-ray, ultrasound, contrast studies, CT, MRI), operative reports from prior surgeries, nutritional assessment data, laboratory results including liver function, nutritional markers, and micronutrient levels, and growth and developmental history. CMCS will arrange certified translation of all medical records, imaging reports, operative notes, and nutritional assessment data in advance of the consultation.
Prof. Cai will assess the surgical anatomy and physiology, evaluate the feasibility and expected outcomes of surgical intervention or intestinal rehabilitation, outline the recommended treatment strategy with detailed rationale, discuss the role of nutritional optimization before and after surgery, and provide a realistic and honest assessment of expected outcomes and the timeline for intestinal rehabilitation or nutritional autonomy. A multidisciplinary team review involving neonatology, gastroenterology, hepatology, dietetics, and speech-language pathology will be coordinated as appropriate. A written English-language consultation summary — including imaging interpretation, diagnosis, recommended treatment plan, nutritional protocol, and follow-up schedule — is provided after every appointment, and CMCS will facilitate direct communication between Prof. Cai's team and the patient's home pediatric surgeon, gastroenterologist, and dietitian for continuity of care planning.
Book a Consultation Through CMCS
China Medical Concierge Shanghai (CMCS) provides comprehensive end-to-end support for international patients and families seeking neonatal surgery or clinical nutrition consultation with Prof. Cai Wei at Xinhua Hospital. Our services include priority consultation scheduling with Prof. Cai's team and the multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation and nutrition team, certified medical record and imaging translation, pre-consultation surgical and nutritional review by our clinical coordinators, surgical logistics and hospital admission coordination, visa and travel support for families traveling with a sick infant or child, accommodation recommendations near Xinhua Hospital, on-site interpretation throughout the consultation and surgical process, pharmacy and nutritional formula coordination, and ongoing follow-up coordination between Prof. Cai's team and the patient's home physicians and dietitians after return.
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