Talking with Dr. Le Duc To, Director of Oriental STO Hospital to understand more about the heart of "A physician is like a gentle mother"...
Hello, Dr. Le Duc To, STO Phuong Dong Hospital is known as one of the prestigious hospitals in HCMC specializing in trauma and orthopedic surgery. By the way, could you please share more about the facilities and operational capacity of the hospital in the current period?
Currently, STO Phuong Dong Hospital has 12 major departments. External system: General surgery, Trauma-orthopedic; Eye; Ear, nose and throat; Plastic surgery... The subclinical departments include: Laboratory; Diagnostic imaging (X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI...). The hospital has 120 officers and employees, including more than 30 doctors. Modern infrastructure, meeting the requirements of medical examination and treatment, with a scale of 75 to 80 beds, in special cases such as charity surgery, it is possible to increase more beds. On average, each month, the hospital examines and treats about 2,000 cases, of which nearly 800 are surgeries (on peak days, there are up to 40 surgeries).
It is known that, with many years of experience, Dr. Le Duc To has been in charge of many important surgeries at the hospital. You are a shining example of medical ethics and surgical skills for many young doctors to learn. So how are you interested in fostering and training the next generation?
With the advancement of science and technology, the constant learning and improvement of doctors has created a team of doctors with high surgical skills. Many doctors strive to become leading experts in trauma and orthopedic surgery. Recently, at STO Phuong Dong Hospital, there are many young doctors participating in internships, improving skills and expertise in trauma and orthopedic surgery. There are many doctors in the hospital's key personnel who have pursued their career for 20 years, they have done well in surgery to correct serious defects in extremities, stretching limbs, chest concave surgery,...
After 14 years of operation, from which regions and cities STO Phuong Dong Hospital normally receives and treats patients? During the operation, the hospital successfully treated many difficult cases. The hospital also creates a lot of prestige among the patients. Currently, not only patients from many provinces nationwide, but patients from neighboring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, overseas Vietnamese from the US, Germany, France, Canada,... also seek medical examination and treatment at the hospital.
The patients who come here, what are the main diseases they usually suffer, Dr. Le Duc To?
Hospital patients usually belong to 2 groups: trauma and orthopedic surgery. Injuries, the most severe are multiple injuries: visceral damage, along with multiple fractures. They are mostly young people, due to traffic accidents. There are cases where the foot is severed, which is completely healed. Orthopedic surgery, mainly due to birth defects, concave chest, severe deformed legs. In many cases, the legs
are stretched to 10cm. There was a case of a patient with congenital deformity of 2 knees, chest concave, the surgery was done when he was 5 years old, then he was able to walk with 2 feet, 10 years later chest surgery was conducted.
It is known that, in addition to medical examination and treatment at the hospital, you also join many charitable groups and travel across the country to examine and operate poor patients... At the hospital, you also enthusiastically support poor patients. Could you please share more about this issue?
For several years, I went and coordinated with my fellow doctors, other hospital facilities in many rural areas, from the Northwest highlands to Mekong Delta, operating about 50,000 cases. In particular, in the period 2005 - 2010, there were tens of thousands of children in the Northern provinces,... especially from Nghe An, Ha Tinh, with severely deformed shoulder joints due to delta muscle fibrosis. Many cases giving parents confusion and scare are called "sagging wings" disease. There are cases the more treatment, the more severe. When the delegation of Dr. Le Duc To arrived, the disease mechanism was identified and it only took 15 minutes for each minor surgery, helping the children recover from the disease.
It is known that after the establishment of STO Phuong Dong Hospital, in the role of hospital director, you often carry out charity work to help poor patients. That made many people admire, especially the poor patients, some of them could not even afford to ride home, even though you helped them with hospital fees?
Every day our hospital receives hundreds of poor patients coming from remote areas, who are in very difficult circumstances. Wanting to partly share those difficulties, I used about 50% of my personal income to help them. Just recently, there was a patient with spinal cord tumors, difficult family circumstances, I helped with 5 million VND for CT-MRI scan, and motivate another sponsor for a wheelchair.
Thank you very much, we wish you, the doctors, hospital officers and employees a healthy, successful new year and continue to accompany poor patients nationwide!
