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| Patient Dao Xuan Truong (10 days old) after laparoscopic surgery for diaphragmatic hernia. |
Recently, doctors at the Central Pediatrics Institute shocked the global surgical community by successfully performing laparoscopic surgery on newborns with diaphragmatic hernia.
After baby Dao Xuan Truong let out his first cry, doctors were immediately concerned for his life due to a diaphragmatic hernia. He was quickly transferred to the Pediatrics Hospital. The hospital director, Nguyen Thanh Liem, personally assessed the child’s condition and decided to proceed with laparoscopic surgery to address the hernia.
At this point, the patient’s condition was critical, with abdominal organs pushing into the chest cavity, causing severe respiratory distress. However, the challenge for the doctors was that the patient was extremely small, only a few days old, with a very high risk of mortality. The professors and doctors at the Central Pediatrics Institute overcame this difficulty. The surgery for patient Truong was successful.
Another pediatric patient, weighing only 1.8 kg, presented with a diaphragmatic hernia just a few days after birth and arrived at the Central Pediatrics Institute in critical condition. After an urgent consultation, the doctors decided to perform laparoscopic surgery on this patient, and the results were beyond expectations, giving the patient a chance at survival.
According to statistics from the Pediatrics Hospital, approximately 20-30 newborns are admitted each year with diaphragmatic hernia. Many children are saved, but a significant number also succumb due to late hospital arrival and severe respiratory distress.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Liem – Director of the Central Pediatrics Institute – stated: “Our decision to perform laparoscopic surgery for diaphragmatic hernia in newborns is a significant effort. A newborn is very fragile, and if they have a diaphragmatic hernia, the risk of death is very high, yet they can still be saved. Only laparoscopic surgery offers a chance to save these children. This is why we decided to apply laparoscopic surgery for handling diaphragmatic hernia in newborns.”
Since 2000, the hospital has been performing laparoscopic surgery for diaphragmatic hernia in pediatric patients, becoming the third country in the world to successfully implement this technique. Recently, the Central Pediatrics Institute has taken another step forward by performing laparoscopic surgery for diaphragmatic hernia on newborn patients. This success has been recognized by the global medical community, making Vietnam the first country to apply this technique in newborns.
In the past, both worldwide and in Vietnam, the only way to address diaphragmatic hernia was through open surgery. The mortality rate after surgery was high and depended on how quickly respiratory distress symptoms appeared. When laparoscopic surgery emerged, American surgeons attempted to use this technique for diaphragmatic hernia but were unsuccessful with newborn patients.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Liem remarked: “Newborns with diaphragmatic hernia often experience severe respiratory distress; therefore, the first step is to provide immediate resuscitation rather than rushing them into the operating room as was done previously. The most crucial factor is that the performing surgeon must execute the technique accurately, ensuring anesthesia and oxygen supply throughout the surgery.”
The global pediatric community has recognized the skills of the doctors at the Central Pediatrics Institute as a new advancement in medicine. Once again, the expertise of Vietnamese pediatricians has been acknowledged, and many pediatric patients have been saved from the unfortunate congenital condition of diaphragmatic hernia.
