HCM City (VNA) – The first regional thoracic surgery centre will be established in Vietnam under a partnership between FV Hospital, a member of the Thomson Medical Group, and O2 Healthcare Group, a specialised lung centre in Singapore.

The two sides inked a cooperation deal in Ho Chi Minh City on August 15, under which Dr. Su Jang Wen, a leading cardiothoracic surgeon and lung cancer specialist, will be in charge of the centre, which is developed at FV hospital.

The centre is expected to improve the success rate of lung cancer treatment at the hospital in particular, and Vietnam as a whole. Through this collaboration, the hospital could offer cutting-edge diagnostic, and treatment options for lung cancer and complex thoracic conditions at affordable prices for patients in the country.

According to Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore-based Thomson Medical Group Melvin Heng, the partnership will bring top specialists from Singapore to provide treatment to patients at FV hospital. They will address complex conditions in the fields of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) cardiac interventions, electrophysiology, vascular surgery, spinal surgery, neurosurgery, pelvic surgery, urological cancer surgery, head and neck surgery, liver treatment, oncology, and general surgery.

Dr. Su received advanced training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in the US. Of the more than 7,000 lung, heart, and oesophageal surgeries he has performed since 2007, 95% have been conducted with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive technique with incisions of only 1.5 to 3cm. 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.

Notably, Su has maintained 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 Vietnam, affecting both male and female. Cancer accounts for 19% of all deaths in the country, with lung cancer being the second most common cancer and also the second leading cause of death since 2012. Most patients are diagnosed at a late stage, making treatment difficult and costly.

According to Dr. Su’s experience, if diagnosed early, the 5-year survival rate post-surgery without chemotherapy can be as high as 99% for stage 0 (meaning pre-invasive lung cancer), and as high as 92% for stage 1A (meaning a tumour limited to the lung, with no metastatic dissemination to distant organs or lymph node). The surviꦬval rate drops considerably at later stages./.