The Plastic Surgery Department of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (abbreviated as Renji Plastic Surgery) was established in 1951, which is one of the first plastic surgery departments built in China. It is a continuation of the Plastic Surgery Department of the hospital affiliated to St. John's University Medical School in the United States of America. Professor Chen Shaozhou, the founder of the discipline, studied under the American Columbia University plastic surgery expert F. Smith, and returned to China to serve as a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he became the first director of plastic surgery at a public hospital in Shanghai, and a professor of surgery at the Second Medical University of Shanghai. He successively published several monographs including 'Unilateral Cleft Lip Repair' and 'Preliminary Report on the Application of Pharyngeal Tissue Flap Transplantation in Cleft Palate Repair'. Since 1993, he has enjoyed a special government allowance from the State Council.

Renji Plastic Surgery is a member of the Plastic Surgery Alliance of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, one of the first batch of standardized training bases for resident physicians in Shanghai, a doctoral degree granting institution, and a national destination for visiting and advanced studies in plastic surgery. Under the efforts of successive directors of plastic surgery, it has gradually developed into a clinical center for plastic surgery that combines congenital deformity repair, trauma or tumor reconstruction, and aesthetic plastic surgery. It has trained a team of professional talents in various directions such as pathological scars, malignant tumors of the skin and soft tissues, craniofacial deformities, ocular plastic surgery, breast reconstruction, and genital plastic surgery, with over 20 master's and doctoral students trained. The discipline has long been focusing on the clinical application of advanced technologies: in 2010, it cooperated with Professor Kotaro Yoshimura of Japan to introduce and promote the technique of SVF-assisted fat transplantation in China, opening a new chapter in fat component transplantation. In 2014, it pioneered the introduction of autologous cultured epidermal transplantation technology in China, leading the forefront of treatment for vitiligo and cortical defect repair. In 2019, it promoted early the immune environment evaluation of scar patients, providing diagnostic references for patients with 'scar constitution'. At the same time, to ensure high-quality medical services, the hospital successively introduced and invested in medical equipment such as Leica surgical microscopes, electric dermatomes, hair transplanters, photon, laser, radiofrequency, and photodynamic therapy around 2000, making disease treatment more diverse and effective.

The discipline actively carries out international academic exchange activities, and has successively established clinical research and basic research cooperation with many world-renowned institutions such as Harvard Medical School in the United States, the University of New South Wales in Australia, the University of Tokyo in Japan, and Seoul National University in South Korea. At the same time, the discipline actively participates in large-scale academic conferences at home and abroad, maintaining synchronous diagnosis and treatment plans with international top plastic surgery centers and diversified medical aesthetics. In long-term international exchanges, it cooperates with social organizations such as the World Craniofacial Surgery Foundation and the China Children's Charity Foundation to assist difficult groups of patients with congenital facial deformities including severe facial cleft deformities, microtia patients, and hydrocephalus patients. The treatment of these children has been widely reported by mainstream media such as CCTV, Southern Daily, and Shanghai Educational Television, and has achieved a good social impact.

After sailing through thousands of sails and persevering tirelessly through three generations of old, middle-aged, and young people, Renji Plastic Surgery has built a 'flying geese formation' team led by the discipline's leaders in multiple sub-specialties such as scar prevention and treatment, malignant tumors of the skin and soft tissues, facial reconstruction, breast reconstruction, hair transplantation, genital plastic surgery, and rejuvenation medical aesthetics. It has promoted a 'discipline linkage', 'backbone drive', 'doctor-patient interaction', and 'proactive doctor' 4D medical service model, and its treatment effects have been praised by patients. In the future, Renji Plastic Surgery will adhere to its original aspiration, expand innovative medical technologies, optimize the allocation of professional resources, and further refine and strengthen its services, striving to provide high-quality plastic reconstruction and medical aesthetic services for the people.