Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Hanoi-based Military Central Hospital 108 hasbecome the first medical facility in Vietnam and Southeast Asia to successfullyperform a double forearmtransplant.

Thesurgery was part of multiple organ transplants the hospital conducted onSeptember 16. 

Thisis the fourth time the hospital has implemented organ procurement andtransplant at the same time. The organs, which were taken from a brain-deaddonor, were transplanted to six patients.

Thepatient who received the forearm transplant is an 18-year-old man who lost hisforearms three years ago due to injuries he sustained in an accidentalexplosion. 

Sincethen, he has faced difficulties in his daily life and been unable topursue his educational dreams.

Now,nearly two months after the surgery, the patient’s wounds have healed andthe limbs are adapting well. The patient is able to hold things and use amobile phone. He still needs to undergo more physical therapy to improve hisrange of movement.

DrMai Hong Bang, Director of the Military Central Hospital 108, said the surgerywas an outstanding success in the field of limb transplantation in Vietnamafter the success of the first limb transplant from a live donor this January.

Thehospital successfully performed five other transplants on the same day. 

Alung transplant was carried out on a 54-year-old male patient diagnosed withprimary pulmonary fibrosis, a liver transplant was carried out for apatient with acute liver failure against a background of cirrhosis due to ahepatitis B virus infection and two kidney transplants were done fortwo separate patients with end-stage chronic renal failure.

Thehospital, in coordination with the National Coordinating Centre for Human OrganTransplantation, also carried out a heart transplant for a patient withend-stage dilated myocarditis at the Hanoi-based Vietnam-GermanyFriendship Hospital.

Bangsaid the 10-hour long surgery to transplant organs for the six patientsrequired very close co-ordination and implementation among specialists in thehospital.

“Twelveoperating tables were operating simultaneously with the participation of morethan 150 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and technicians. In particular,the lung transplant case was coordinated by a team of experts from the CentralLung Hospital,” he said. 

Afterthe transplants, all the patients are in stable health condition. The liver andkidney transplant patients were discharged three weeks after surgery, and thelung transplant patients were discharged four weeks after the procedure./.