Vietnamese doctors successfully treat foreign surgeon with rectal cancer

This underscores the credibility and expertise of Vietnamese doctors, which are increasingly recognised, and creates trust among international patients.

The 64-year-old Indonesian doctor was diagnosed with rectal cancer in early 2024. As a surgeon, he learned about places that could treat his disease. Receiving advice from Indonesian colleagues who had previously participated in training courses at the Ho Chi Minh City hospital, he decided to go to Vietnam in February.

Doctor Nguyen Huu Thinh from the hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology said that the patient’s disease has developed to Stage 3 with a large tumor and many metastatic lymph nodes in the mesorectum.

After the surgery, the patient resumed normal activities and was discharged five days later.

He shared that after experiencing the treatment process for over four months in Vietnam, he feels happy with his decision.

Thinh said that rectal cancer, popular in Vietnam, can be treated successfully if detected early. At his hospital, each year more than 800 cases of rectal cancer are diagnosed and treated with a 5-year survival rate of up to 70% for Stage 3 cancer.

Besides treatment, the hospital is currently a training centre for rectal laparoscopic surgery for domestic and foreign doctors. Over the past 15 years, 763 doctors from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have attended laparoscopic surgery training courses here.