The country’s first lung transplant will be performed earlier than planned because many patients may not wait for transplant, said   National Lung Hospital director Nguyen Viet Nhung at the ground-breaking ceremony of national center for lung transplant and hi-tech on January 6 in Hanoi.

To prepare for the first lung transplant surgery, the hospital is building a program to carry out all-side lung transplantation as per the Ministry of Health’s guideline, he said.

Additionally, the hospital is selecting patients who will undertake the special transplantation surgery and before and post surgery treatment for patients, he added

As per the roadmap, by 2018, the hospital will perform its first lung transplants yet many patients who are waiting for the surgery may not be alive until the transplants.

So it will conduct these operations earlier than scheduled. The transplant surgery may be performed in the end of 2017 or early in 2018. As scheduled, next April, the high-tech center will be operated, lung transplant surgery can be performed by leading experts with the help of state-of-the- art equipment.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien said that the center is really helpful not only for the hospital but also for the health sector because lung transplant surgery is a challenge for medical workers in Vietnam and in the globe. The center is hoped to assist in treatment and diagnosis of lung diseases.

According to the schedule, the center will be completed in two years. It will have 10 operation rooms including two rooms equipped with modernized devices where doctors will perform chest and lung transplant surgeries. Additionally, it also privide an intensive treatment room and other rooms with 270 beds.

SGGP