A team of Shanghai physicians has accomplished a globally rare surgery for an extensive cervical spine dissociation, a condition analogous to head-body separation, the People's Daily reported on Monday. During the surgery, they successfully pioneered incorporating auxiliary plates beyond conventional fixation to endow the reconstructed cervical spine with unprecedented stability, a breakthrough that marked the first use of such technology for extreme cases.

According to the report, the patient sustained a severe blow to the neck from a robotic arm, causing catastrophic, instantaneous damage to the cervical spine. He suffered high paraplegia and cardiac arrest on the spot, and only barely regained vital signs after emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Imaging examinations revealed an extremely rare, extensive dislocation of the patient's cervical spine, with severity comparable to near decapitation. Moreover, the patient teetered on the brink of catastrophic hemorrhage-induced shock or fatal cerebral infarction caused by vertebral artery injury.

"We reviewed numerous domestic and international studies but found no cases of such severe cervical spine separation, let alone any cases where patients survived treatment," said Chen Huajiang, director of the cervical spine surgery ward at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital.

Chen promptly organized a team with professors from the emergency department, critical care department, and anesthesiology department, and they conducted a meticulous assessment of the patient's injuries. For every conceivable extreme intraoperative risk - such as uncontrollable massive hemorrhage - the team formulated comprehensive contingency plans and a detailed surgical roadmap.

Despite the patient's critically unstable vital signs, the experts, leveraging exceptional anatomical expertise and microsurgical techniques, evacuated massive hematomas, overcame severe adhesions and deformities, and ultimately achieved precise anatomical reduction of the fully displaced and separated cervical structures.

The team also innovatively added auxiliary plates in addition to conventional fixation to provide stability for the reconstructed cervical spine - an unprecedented application of this technique in such extreme cases.

Chen noted that while the overall plan was clear, intraoperative decisions - such as screw trajectory selection and ensuring secure vertebral fixation - had no precedent for reference, relying entirely on real-time judgment honed through accumulated experience.

When performing complex reduction procedures in such a confined space, "it may seem like we're just moving bones, but in reality, the surrounding blood vessels and nerves will be stretched. This requires us to be 'bold yet meticulous' - avoiding secondary injuries ensuring surgical success," Chen added.

Fortunately, thanks to the team's meticulous work, the surgery was successfully completed after approximately three hours. The patient rapidly regained consciousness, with vital signs gradually stabilizing, the report noted.

The patient can now sit up with assistance, marking the emergence of positive signals in his neurological function, and has been transferred to the stage of structured rehabilitation, according to the report.

At the request of the Bangladeshi government, China has dispatched a medical team of five burn specialists, who are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday evening, the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh said on Thursday after a Bangladesh air force training aircraft crashed into a school in the nation's capital on Monday.

Specialists will then proceed to Bangladesh's National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to assist in treating severely injured patients, according to the embassy.

A Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka on Monday after experiencing a technical problem shortly after take-off, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, the death toll from the crash rose to 32, including at least 29 students and two teachers who died from burns, and the pilot on his first solo flight. Officials said 171 people, mostly students at Milestone School and College and many with burns, were rescued as the jet crashed into a two-story building, AP News reported.

On Thursday morning, at the request of Bangladesh and under the guidance of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, Southwest China's Yunnan Province urgently organized a team of experts from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University to conduct a remote video consultation with the Bangladesh's National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery. 

Chinese experts in burn treatment, plastic surgery, pediatric nephrology, and pediatric respiratory medicine, together with Bangladeshi doctors, analyzed the conditions of several critically injured patients from the recent military aircraft crash and jointly discussed treatment plans, the embassy said Thursday.

Liu Jinsong, director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, visited the Embassy of Bangladesh in China on Thursday to mourn the victims of the crash. He signed the condolence book on behalf of the Chinese side, expressing profound condolences to the victims and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured, wishing the wounded a swift recovery.

Liu added that China and Bangladesh can also strengthen cooperation in areas such as emergency rescue, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The recruitment number of carrier-based fighter jet pilots of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy this year hit a record high, official Chinese media revealed on Friday. A Chinese military affairs expert said that the increase in recruitment is crucial for boosting the combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers, reflecting the growing number and variety of carrier-based aircraft on board Chinese carriers, and also suggesting the future fleet of carriers may expand.

The PLA Navy’s 2025 pilot recruitment process has recently been completed successfully, according to the military channel of China Central Television (CCTV) on Friday.

This year’s intake includes graduates from regular high schools, students from naval aviation schools, as well as fresh bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates from both military and civilian universities, with recruitment sources becoming increasingly diverse and optimized. The candidates' scores of the national college entrance exam (also known as the gaokao), the number of those meeting the standards for carrier-based fighter pilots, and the proportion of qualified applicants have all reached record levels, the CCTV report said.

“The fact that pilot recruitments have reached a new high shows that the intake is steadily increasing, which aligns with the development trend of China’s carrier-based aircraft,” Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Friday.

Fu said that as the types and numbers of carrier-based aircraft continue to grow, more qualified pilots are needed. Through progressive selection and training, pilots are prepared to eventually operate from aircraft carriers.

Multiple training pathways help broaden the talent pool, extend pilot careers, and improve overall quality, Fu added.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, commissioned in September 2012, and the Shandong, which is China’s second carrier and also the first one domestically built, entered naval service in December 2019. China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is undergoing sea trials. It is the country’s first domestically designed and built catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, features a straight flight deck with electromagnetic catapults and arrestor gear, according to official media reports.

Fu said that the number of aircraft carried varies between carriers, so pilot demand also differs.

“The Liaoning carries around 20 to 30 fighter jets, while the Shandong, thanks to its more optimized design, can carry more. The Fujian uses an electromagnetic catapult system, which allows for more frequent takeoffs compared to the ski-jump system. It will also be equipped with new aircraft types such as early warning aircraft, increasing demand for both pilots and command personnel,” Fu said.

Official media reports indicate that both the variety and quantity of China’s carrier-based aircraft are expanding. The J-15 is China’s first fixed-wing carrier-based fighter, while the upgraded J-15T fighter jet and the J-15D electronic warfare aircraft were unveiled at the Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province. The upgraded J-15 fighters boast upgraded avionics and weapons systems, and a refined airframe structure, resulting in enhanced combat capabilities.

Meanwhile, a model of the carrier-borne J-35 stealth fighter jet was also unveiled at the airshow along with the PLA Air Force’s J-35A variant. The J-35A is equipped with a homegrown engine and a human-machine interaction design, enabling it to perform both air superiority and strike missions against ground and maritime targets, the Xinhua News Agency reported at the time. Wang Yongqing, the chief designer of multiple types of aircraft as well as the chief expert of the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), told the Global Times in an exclusive interview in June that the debut of the J-35A and the first exhibit of a model of the J-35 witnessed at the Airshow China 2024 is the fruition of the "air-sea twin configuration" design philosophy.

The number of carrier-based pilots typically exceeds the number of aircraft, Fu said. “This ensures operational readiness even if some pilots are temporarily unavailable. Additionally, some aircraft require two-person crews. The diversity of missions also demands a higher number of pilots than aircraft.”

“In the future, pilots in carrier aviation units will need to not only fly aircraft but also operate electronic warfare systems. This raises the bar for professional skills and expands the demand for talent across disciplines. Therefore, accelerating pilot training is imperative,” Fu added.