Associate Professor Nguyen Ly Thinh Truong, Director of the Cardiovascular Center at the National Children’s Hospital, said that arterial switch operation with correction is one of the most complex congenital heart conditions and cannot be performed by every medical facility.

This serious heart defect appears immediately after birth and causes the heart chambers and arteries to be reversed.

Each year, the Cardiovascular Center at the National Children’s Hospital performs surgery on around 60 children diagnosed with this condition. Each operation typically lasts between 10 and 12 hours.

According to Truong, the cost of such surgery in the US can reach US$500,000 at well-known hospitals. In contrast, the total cost in Vietnam is about US$5,000, though it may increase slightly if the patient requires prolonged intensive care.

“Congenital heart surgery costs in Vietnam are considered extremely low, almost the lowest compared with the global average,” Truong said on the sidelines of the conference on updates in diagnosis and treatment of complex congenital heart disease held from March 12 to 13.

India’s costs are somewhat lower due to its ability to domestically produce much of its medicines and medical equipment, while Vietnam still relies largely on imported supplies.

Professor Tran Minh Dien, Director of the National Children’s Hospital, said the hospital’s Cardiovascular Center performs more than 2,000 cardiovascular interventions and surgeries each year, including around 1,000 open-heart operations with nearly optimal success rates.

Many pediatric patients undergo surgery when they are only a few days old, often with low birth weight and complex congenital heart conditions accompanied by complications such as respiratory failure or multiple organ failure.

The Cardiovascular Center at the National Children’s Hospital is currently the facility performing the largest number of congenital heart surgeries for newborns in Southeast Asia, with around 300 cases each year.

The mortality rate after neonatal heart surgery in 2025 was only 6.5 percent.

The hospital’s Cardiovascular Center has also recently become the sixth unit to receive the “Center of Excellence” designation awarded by Children’s HeartLink in collaboration with Benioff Children’s Hospital in the US.

Statistics show congenital heart disease occurs in about 0.8 to 1 percent of live births. Some critical forms of the condition can cause death during the neonatal period if not diagnosed early and treated promptly.

Vo Thu