As part of his mission to make the global surgery effort in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery a bi-directional one, Phuong Nguyen, MD, associate vice chair of global surgery, recently welcomed two surgeons from Vietnam to the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.
“It was great having them here, to share a piece of our lives and welcome them to the University of Colorado to get a different view of how things are done — not better or worse, but coming from a different context, different resources,” said Phuong, who brought a group of residents and students from the CU School of Medicine to Vietnam in March. “This is the spirit of true collaboration.”
The Vietnamese surgeons — Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan and Dr. Duong Thi Diem Hang — specialize in maxillofacial surgery, primarily treating children with cleft lip and palate. While on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in mid-August, they sat in on lectures and procedures and delivered presentations on the state of care for cleft lip and palate at their home institution, Vietnam National Children’s Hospital.
“They do orthodontics and surgeries, and they both work seven days a week,” Phuong said. “They are prime examples of how to be selfless and do the best you can to help your people.”
Two-way hospitality
Phuong first met Lan and Hang in 2018 while on a medical trip with Nuoy Reconstructive International, a non-governmental organization he cofounded that provides access to complex reconstructive surgery in Vietnam. Phuong has made regular trips to the country over the past 20 years to provide and oversee care.
“We've known each other for a long time, but it's only been unidirectional,” Phuong said. “They've welcomed our group to Vietnam with open arms and amazing hospitality, and I wanted to make it truly bidirectional and bring them to the U.S.”
Dr. Duong Thi Diem Hang, left, and Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan delivered a presentation on their experiences providing cleft care at Vietnam National Children’s Hospital.
Hang said she appreciated getting to see how another hospital system operates.
“Everything at this hospital is very nice —the people, the organization, the security is very advanced, more than our hospital in Vietnam,” she said. “Besides the techniques, we learned a lot from the University of Colorado hospital, not only from doctors, but from the students, residents, and staff.”
Advancing research
Phuong said he brought the surgeons to Colorado not only to learn advanced procedures, but to further their research efforts.
“We want to show them how our comprehensive cleft team approaches certain patients and patient problems here, but we also want to show them some of the things they haven't had as much of a chance to grow in Vietnam, which is the research infrastructure,” he said. “Dr. Lan and Dr. Hang both have a lot of great ideas, and we want to help them get to the next level of critical analysis, data capture, and publication.”
‘True partnerships’
Phuong said the visit from the Vietnam surgeons is a perfect example of what he wants to achieve within global surgery at the CU Department of Surgery, and he hopes to continue to bring surgeons from other countries to campus to learn and teach.
“I think it's a critical part of our growth,” he says. “It cannot just be a one-way valve. We need to create long-term sustainability, long-term commitments, true partnerships. There are logistics and resources we need to figure out, but once we do that, I look forward to being able to show some hospitality and welcome people from around the world.”
