Children’s HeartLink training visit at Vietnam Children’s Hospital in Hanoi, November 2018
Fifteen heart surgeries were performed at Vietnam Children’s Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital of over 30 million, during a week-long training visit with our medical volunteer team from University of California San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF). Among our medical volunteers was Dr. Shunji Sano, a world-renowned surgeon who pioneered the Sano procedure used throughout the world to treat children born with a single ventricle, one of the most complex congenital heart defects. Dr. Sano shared his expertise in open-heart surgery, including the procedure he invented. Dr. Sano has performed over 7,000 pediatric cardiac surgeries.
“Our team has learned a lot from this experience, and we all believe that we can improve our knowledge and results with this support. Also, we believe that we could save more children’s lives in the future with support from our partners at UCSF,” says Nguyen Ly Thinh Truong, chief of the cardiovascular surgery department and director of the Children’s Heart Center of National Children’s Hospital.
Observational Training at Boston Children’s for Cardiologist from Ho Chi Minh City
The medical professionals we train worldwide sometimes have an opportunity to travel to our volunteer institution partners in the US, Canada and England for observational training.
Dr. Do Giang, a cardiologist from Nhi Dong 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, shared her enthusiasm after spending the month of November at Boston Children’s Hospital, observing its cardiac team and being trained in fetal and regular echocardiography. “It’s really a wonderful environment for learning! I have gained valuable insights through four weeks of observing. I know the way to go now. I will come back, discuss with my team, and we will apply as much as we can in our situation,” says Dr. Giang.
This experience will help her hospital improve early detection of congenital heart disease for the children of Ho Chi Minh City and southern Vietnam, where two-thirds of the country’s population lives.
Read more about our work in Vietnam.