HCM City set for Southeast Asia’s first thoracic surgery centre

Representatives of FV Hospital and O2 Medical Group sign an agreement on August 15 to set up Southeast Asia’s first thoracic surgery centre in HCM City. VNS Photo Văn Châu

HCM CITY – Southeast Asia’s first thoracic surgery centre will be established in Việt Nam by FV Hospital, a member of the Thomson Medical Group, and O2 Healthcare Group, a specialised Singaporean lung centre.

The two inked a deal for the purpose in HCM City on August 15.

Dr. Su Jang Wen, a leading cardiothoracic surgeon and lung cancer specialist, will be in charge of the centre to be set up at FV hospital.

The facility is expected to improve lung cancer treatment at the hospital and Việt Nam as a whole.

Through the collaboration, the centre will offer cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment options for lung cancer and complex thoracic conditions at affordable prices.

According to executive director and CEO of the Singapore-based Thomson Medical Group, Melvin Heng, the partnership will bring top specialists from Singapore to provide treatment at FV Hospital.

They will take part in procedures like transcatheter aortic valve replacement cardiac interventions, electrophysiology, vascular surgery, spinal surgery, neurosurgery, pelvic surgery, urological cancer surgery, head and neck surgery, liver treatment, oncology, and general surgery.

Su received advanced training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in the US.

Of the more than 7,000 lung, heart and oesophageal operations he has performed since 2007, 95 per cent was video-assisted and minimally invasive with incisions of only 1.5-3 centimetres.

This advanced technique yields high success rates for a variety of thoracic conditions such as lung cancer, mediastinal tumours, chest wall surgery, pleural conditions, sympathetic nerve surgery, and oesophageal surgery.

Su has an impressive record of zero post-operative mortality in elective surgeries.

FV Hospital said lung cancer is one of the most prevalent and fatal cancers in Việt Nam, affecting both men and women.

Cancer accounts for 19 per cent of all deaths in the country, with lung cancer being the second most common and also the second leading cause of death since 2012.

Most patients are diagnosed at a late stage, making treatment difficult and costly.

In Su’s experience, if diagnosed early, the five-year survival rate post-surgery without chemotherapy is as high as 99 per cent for stage 0 (meaning pre-invasive lung cancer), and 92 per cent for stage 1A (tumour limited to the lung and not spread to distant organs or lymph node).

The survival rate drops considerably at subsequent stages. – VNS