The patient had few noticeable symptoms and only became aware of her heart condition after experiencing fatigue and weight loss. Now, she is preparing to undergo minimally invasive heart surgery.
The patient said: "I feel reassured because I trust the doctors and their experience. All I hope for is to regain my health after surgery and enjoy my later years."
Unlike conventional open-heart surgery, which typically involves opening the breastbone, minimally invasive procedures use smaller incisions to access the heart. Vietnamese surgeons are now demonstrating their growing mastery of these advanced techniques, including complex heart valve procedures.
Behind every minimally invasive heart operation lies careful preparation, from assessing the patient's condition to selecting the most suitable surgical approach. Performing these procedures requires specialist knowledge, extensive experience and close coordination among the surgical team.
Dr Le Quang Thien of the Training and Healthcare Line Management Center at Hanoi Heart Hospital said: "Today, we perform complex procedures, including fully endoscopic double-valve replacement and mitral valve repair. These are advanced techniques that have attracted considerable interest from our international colleagues. These techniques can reduce surgical trauma and soft tissue damage, allowing patients to recover sooner and avoid some complications associated with conventional open-heart surgery."
What is happening here goes beyond a surgical demonstration. Specialists from across Asia are observing techniques performed by Vietnamese surgeons, exchanging knowledge that could help strengthen cardiac care across the region.
The operations are being broadcast live to the conference hall, allowing international specialists to put questions directly to the surgical teams in the operating theatres. This real-time interaction provides insights into the techniques and decisions involved in complex heart procedures.
Prof. Dato Dr Abu Yamin Khamis, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Northern Heart Hospital in Penang, Malaysia, said: "It is a tremendous progress that I can see because I still remember helping out a few trainees from Vietnam last time to start the programme and now they are actually flying. They are doing very very good and they are coming up to cover almost the whole wide spectrum that is possible in these procedures. So this is an opportunity from other countries also to see what can be offered in Vietnam and at the same time we will see the technology of heart surgery is coming soon."
From operating theatres in Vietnam to exchanges with international colleagues, Vietnamese surgeons are sharing their expertise and opening up new opportunities for regional cooperation in minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
