Chen Zhongwei (; 1929–2004) was a Chinese orthopedic surgeon. He was an expert of orthopedic surgery and microsurgery, one of the pioneers of the process of reattaching severed limbs. Chen was born in

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

on October 1, 1929. In 1954 he graduated from the second medical college of Shanghai, and became the subdecanal of the Sixth People's Hospital in Shanghai later. In 1980 he was elected as an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. He served as the president of International Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery from 1985 to 1988, and became a member of

TWAS The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

in 1986. Chen was most notable for successfully replantating the right hand of a Chinese factory worker named Wang Cunbo in 1963. And later he used microsurgical technique in the severed limbs reattaching operation, highly increased the success rate of replantating. Chen died in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

on March 23, 2004 after falling from the balcony of his apartment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Zhongwei 1929 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Chinese physicians Accidental deaths from falls Chinese orthopedic surgeons Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Physicians from Zhejiang Scientists from Ningbo TWAS fellows 20th-century surgeons