Obstetrics and Gynecology Department

In 1981, the department was the first in Taiwan to successfully detect Down’s syndrome through amniocentesis, and founded the first sperm bank. The Reproductive Endocrinology Division successfully helped produce the first IVF baby in Taiwan in 1985. New techniques have led to a breakthrough in infertility therapy, and our hospital has become one of the major IVF centers in the world. In obstetrics, high-risk pregnancies account for more than 40% of our patient group, thus we have become the major center for high-risk pregnancies in Taiwan. A consultation committee strictly controls the cesarean section rate of our department, which has achieved the lowest cesarean section rate in Taiwan. The Human Genetics Division has made great use of molecular medicine to diagnose Thalassemia, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, as well as trisomy 21.

Our laboratory established the first cervical cancer cell line in Taiwan in 1979, and has also developed the surface antigens of ovarian cancer and monoclonal antibodies of cervical cancer since 1988. We have been successful with tumor localizations in animal models and are developing diagnostic kits for tumor antigens. An award of excellence for research on application studies in MAb Cx-99 was awarded by the National Science Council (NSC) in 2001. We have also applied genetic recombination to modify antibodies for future tumor diagnosis and therapy. Other research includes gene-targeted tumor therapy, autofluorescence diagnosis of tumors, finding a new tumor marker, preimplantation gene diagnosis and stem cell differentiation. In the past three years (2000 to 2002), we have published 98 articles (62 of SCI). A first prize from the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy was awarded in 2000 and 2001. The establishment of a virtual reality system for anatomy models and operation training systems was awarded the excellent research award from the Veterans Affairs Commission, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. in 2002.