The first lung transplant in Vietnam has been successfully performed at the Military Hospital 108, on a male patient with respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Doctors at the Military Hospital 108 perform the first lung transplant from a brain-dead donor in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy to the Military Hospital 108)

At a press brief to announce the success of the operation, in Hanoi on March 16 morning, the hospital stated that, using the organs donated by a brain-dead donor, the Hanoi-based medical facility has also implemented trans-national organ transplants.

The heart and kidney were used as transplants for patients at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, who suffered from end-stage heart and renal failure. Another patient underwent a cornea transplant at Hanoi’s National Hospital of Ophthalmology.

At the Military Hospital 108, doctors performed a transplantation of two lungs on a patient, a kidney transplant for the other and also a cornea transplant.

Regarding the first lung transplant, the surgery was directed by the hospital’s Director, Prof., Dr. Mai Hong Bang. Two foreign experts from France and Belgium, along with 60 medical staff from the hospital, directly performed the eight-hour surgery.

The patient is recovering well after 16 days since the transplantation. (Photo courtesy to the Military Hospital 108)

Dr. Ngo Vi Hai, a member of the operating team, said that the lung recipient is 1964 born patient, Tran Ngoc H. He was diagnosed with respiratory distress due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. H. underwent the lung transplant on February 26 and recovered well after the surgery with good respiratory function. He is currently being treated with anti-rejection drugs and rehabilitation. In the other organ transplants, the patients’ conditions are also stable.

Prof., Dr. Bang revealed that a lung transplant is one of the hardest transplants in the world. "This success is the result of very thorough preparation in the past two years, including the facilities, the consultation with international experts, and the timely maintenance of organs within the “golden period” for transplantation,” he said, adding that the hospital carried out four parallel surgeries to take organs and coordinate transplants, as well as performing the first lung transplantation.

Since the establishment of its Transplant Centre, the hospital has sent its staff to the leading organ transplant centres in the country and around the world in order to improve their profession. It has also actively encouraged patients in Hanoi and neighbouring provinces to donate organs.

To date, the hospital has performed 18 organ transplants, including one liver transplant from a live donor. Since 2004, it has also carried out 27 marrow and 14 corneal transplants and the hospital is also preparing all of its resources and facilities for the implementation of complex organ transplantation techniques, such as cardiac, cardiopulmonary, pancreatic, uterus, limb and intestinal transplantations./.

VNF/NDO