Beijing’s renowned hospital, Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital, saw its deputy director of thoracic surgery, Xiao Fei, being publicly accused by his wife of multiple extramarital affairs and of leaving a surgery for 40 minutes without authorization due to emotional reasons. Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital reported on April 27 that the accusations were mostly true and consequently terminated Xiao Fei’s employment.
On April 18, a 9-page report related to Xiao Fei started circulating on the internet. Xiao Fei’s wife, Gu, in a report sent to the hospital’s discipline inspection committee, claimed that Xiao Fei had engaged in extramarital affairs with four women over the past five years, resulting in multiple pregnancies and abortions among them. This included an extramarital relationship with a nurse from Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital’s thoracic surgery department and a resident physician from the China Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital.
Furthermore, the report revealed that on July 5th last year, during a surgery involving Xiao Fei and the doctor he was having an affair with, a nurse in the operating room rebuked some of the improper actions of the doctor, leading Xiao Fei to shout at the nurse, abandon the anesthetized patient, and leave the operating room with the doctor for 40 minutes, narrowly avoiding serious consequences.
This incident made its way to the top trending spot on Weibo on April 27.
Many netizens expressed shock and concern over Xiao Fei leaving a patient unattended on the operating table for 40 minutes during a surgery.
A netizen from Anhui, Jiuyeye, commented, “Medical ethics have been shattered! Just think about those patients entrusting their lives to him, yet he cannot uphold the most basic family responsibilities and moral standards, it’s truly pathetic.”
Another netizen from Inner Mongolia, Dashitou, said: “Think about it, if his wife hadn’t reported it, would the hospital have known? Especially about leaving the surgery table patientless, we need to contemplate deeply.”
A netizen from Zhejiang, Cuchadandao, remarked: “If he doesn’t even have the most basic professional ethics, how can he save lives and heal the wounded? This doctor not only commits extramarital affairs but also jeopardizes the safety of patients due to his selfish desires, his medical ethics have deteriorated.”
Another netizen from Zhejiang, Fabiaodehuashuiniu, said: “You are a doctor, when lives are at stake in the operating room, how could you do such a thing?”
On the evening of April 27, Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital officially announced that they received a report with real-name information, indicating that Dr. Xiao Fei, the deputy director of thoracic surgery, violated personal discipline and medical ethics issues. After investigation, the hospital found the allegations against Xiao Fei to be substantiated and in accordance with relevant regulations, they revoked Xiao Fei’s party membership and terminated his employment.
According to a report in Economic Observer newspaper, on the evening of April 27, Xiao Fei responded to the hospital’s announcement. Responding to the more serious accusations made by the public regarding his medical quality and safety, Xiao Fei stated he “completely cannot accept” them.
Xiao Fei mentioned that from early 2023 to July 2024, he had multiple disputes and unpleasant situations with the aforementioned nurse during their collaboration in the operating room. On July 5, 2024, he got into a heated argument with the nurse while preparing for surgery with Doctor Dong.
Xiao Fei explained that due to feeling unwell, he couldn’t start the surgery, and after negotiating and calming down, he returned to the operating room.
He further claimed that eventually, he and another doctor named Zhu went back to the operating room to complete the surgery. The surgery lasted for 112 minutes, with 10ml blood loss, and the patient recovered smoothly, being discharged on the 6th day after the operation.
Xiao Fei also stated that he had reported the situation to the hospital’s discipline inspection committee multiple times, and they had promised to investigate. However, he disagreed with the current conclusions reached.
On the evening of April 27, the official website of Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital still displayed information about Xiao. You could still find personal information about Xiao through the hospital’s WeChat mini-program, but the appointment registration system showed that there were no more available appointment slots under his name.
Information on the hospital’s official website indicated that Xiao Fei graduated from the Medical Department of Peking University with a Doctor of Surgery degree. From July 2017 to August 2018, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Mayo Clinic Medical Center in the United States and Washington University in St. Louis Medical School. Starting from 2012, he held positions as a resident physician, attending physician, and deputy director of thoracic surgery at Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital. He also served as a master’s supervisor at Peking Union Medical College.