Vietnam’s hospital transfers endoscopic thyroid surgical technology to Bangladeshi side

The well-known endoscopic thyroid surgical technology developed by the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Endocrinology (NHE) has been transferred to the Bangladeshi side to help facilitate treatment of thyroid related diseases in the South Asian nation.

Doctors from the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Endocrinology perform the hospital’s endoscopic thyroid surgical technology in the witness of Bangladeshi doctors at the National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat of Bangladesh. (Photo provided by the National Hospital of Endocrinology)
Doctors from the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Endocrinology perform the hospital’s endoscopic thyroid surgical technology in the witness of Bangladeshi doctors at the National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat of Bangladesh. (Photo provided by the National Hospital of Endocrinology)

Staff from the Vietnamese facility have made a trip to Bangladesh to lecture and perform the endoscopic thyroid surgery dubbed "Dr Luong" technology, at the invitation of the National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) of Bangladesh.

In 2016, Bangladesh was among the top countries that have made great strides in maintaining nutrition, basic health care and personal safety in South Asia. However, with the seventh largest population in the world, the disparity of the rich and the poor has led to a limited access to healthcare for a large proportion of local people. This is also the cause of the increased number of patients suffering from diseases associated with large thyroid gland.

As one of the leading units in Vietnam in detecting and treating thyroid diseases, in particular, the NHE has successfully applied the endoscopic thyroid surgical technology – namely “Dr Luong” method – developed by Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Ngoc Luong, Director of the NHE. The success of this method has created a new breakthrough in the world of medicine as for the first time an open laparoscopic surgery via armpit has been performed in patients with thyroid diseases.

The success not only helps Vietnamese medicine reach the world's advanced medical level but also draws the attention from international doctors and specialists in this field, who have flocked to the NHE to learn more about the method. A range of major hospitals in the region and around the world have also invited doctors from the NHE to come to their facilities to lecture and carry out “Dr Luong” surgery.

In the working trip to Bangladesh, doctor Phan Hoang Hiep, Head of the NHE’s High Technical Medicine Department and his colleagues gave lectures on endoscopic thyroid surgery to more than 100 doctors who are working at major hospitals in the capital city of Bangladesh. They also performed and applied "Dr Luong" technology on eight patients there.