Purpose Driven Care in Vietnam
By Dr. Sikai Song
My experience with IVUmed in Vietnam was incredible! I spent a week at Binh Dan Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, a major hospital providing specialized surgical care. It’s also one of the few places in Vietnam that offers complex reconstructive urology. Given the predominance of scooters as personal transportation in Vietnam, there is a high volume of scooter-related accidents, often resulting in very complex pelvic urethral fracture injuries. Over the past decade, Dr. Joel Gelman, Professor of Urology from UC Irvine, and IVUmed have worked to build a sustainable partnership with Binh Dan Hospital to help train local Vietnamese urologists in reconstructive urology.
I had the pleasure to work with Dr. Gelman and Dr. Hung Do, staff reconstructive urologist at Binh Dan Hospital, along with fellow American trainees, local Vietnamese urologists, and visiting urologists from Thailand. We performed extremely difficult urethroplasty cases in these patients with pelvic fracture urethral injuries; one of the patients had actually traveled all the way from Cambodia in order to get his surgery performed. It was an eye-opening experience to learn a different medical system and experience firsthand how to operate in another country.
I was impressed with the sheer volume of Urology cases and the complexity of the surgeries – I remember one day seeing more than 10 OR rooms running of purely Urology! It reminded me that good surgery begins with fundamental knowledge of anatomy and tissue handling. Good surgery does not require the latest cutting-edge equipment. Moreover, the Vietnamese urologists treated me with grace and kindness, allowing me to observe and participate in their surgeries. After work, we would go out for a drink or a bite to eat, and they would show me the local spots around town. I had so much fun learning about Vietnamese culture and language, and I had an amazing time hanging out with all the Vietnamese urologists.
At the end of the week, I had the fortune of attending the 21st Scientific Congress of Binh Dan Hospital – CISE (Connecting International Surgical Experts), where 33 internationally renowned experts from all over the world convened specifically in Ho Chi Minh City to present their research and exchange innovations, clinical knowledge, and techniques in surgery and medicine. It was a huge 2-day conference with multiple sponsor booths, sessions, presentations, and lectures, and a true testament to the reputation and reach of Binh Dan Hospital in the international community. It reminded me that the Urology community is truly international and global, and the work that IVUmed does is truly so important with long-lasting effects for years to come.