Cho Ray Hospital pioneers in applying 4K-ICG neuroendoscopic surgery system

In an effort to bring high technology into people's health care, Cho Ray Hospital has just deployed the 4K-ICG neuroendoscopic surgery system for the first time in Vietnam to help restore vision to a patient who has suffered from illness for 10 years.

Cho Ray Hospital doctors used the 4K-ICG neuroendoscopic surgery system for the surgery.

For the past 10 years, Mr. P., 57 years old, residing in Khanh Hoa province, has had to live in a state of increasingly uncertain health due to headaches accompanied by vomiting, insomnia and impaired vision. He went to many places for medical examination but the symptoms were still vague, leaving the real cause undiscovered. “I thought I had cerebral anemia. Sometimes when I was walking, my eyes would go dark, my hands and feet would feel numb and cold without understanding why,” he recounted.

His patience with the disease continued until November 10, when he was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital with severely impaired vision, only able to recognize the silhouette of his hand.

From the MRI results, the doctor determined that the patient had a 56mm pituitary tumor belonging to the giant pituitary tumor group, which accounts for about 10% of all pituitary tumors. The image also showed that the tumor had invaded the sphenoid sinus, cavernous sinus, compressed the optic chiasm and two internal carotid arteries.

Advanced system provides sharp images, effectively supporting surgeons.

This is a complex pathology, with the potential risk of damaging many important structures, while according to international reports, the rate of complete tumor removal only ranges from 3-40%. At this time, the challenge is to remove as much of the tumor as possible while still preserving the pituitary gland and the vascular and nervous systems.

In response to that request, the Neurosurgery team decided to perform endoscopic surgery through the nose-sphenoid sinus. This is a routine technique at the hospital, but what is special about this case is that for the first time, the 4K-ICG neuroendoscopic surgery system was applied and Cho Ray Hospital is the first unit in the country to own this technology since mid-2025.

Dr. Tran Thien Khiem, Department of Neurosurgery, Cho Ray Hospital, said: “With a giant tumor like this case, the top requirement is to remove as much of the tumor as possible while preserving the healthy pituitary gland and major blood vessels. Thanks to the 4K-ICG system, each structure is clearly displayed on the screen, helping the team to handle the procedure more conveniently.”

This advanced surgical system is equipped with a compact endoscope, 4K resolution supports many different viewing angles, more importantly, when injecting ICG fluorescent agent, the entire vascular system and important structures are clearly displayed, helping surgeons to position accurately and operate more safely.

As a result, the surgery was successful as the doctors removed almost the entire tumor, helping to improve the patient's treatment effectiveness. What followed was a surprising recovery journey, after five days, Mr. P. was awake, eating and drinking on his own, his vision improved significantly and he was discharged from the hospital shortly after.

Mr. P. emotionally shared: "I am truly grateful. I thought the disease would follow me for the rest of my life, but now I have been revived."

Mr. P. recovered quickly after the surgery.

From a professional perspective, Dr. Tran Huy Hoan Bao, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery, assessed that giant pituitary tumors are always a big challenge because of their deep invasion and involvement with many other important structures.

He emphasized: “With previous methods, removing the maximum tumor mass while preserving blood vessels and nerves was a difficult goal to achieve. Now the 4K-ICG system has created a clear change in observing the surgical field. From there, surgeons can distinguish tumor tissue from healthy tissue, identify the pituitary stalk and large blood vessels clearly.”

The doctor said that since its operation, the 4K-ICG system has supported the Department of Neurosurgery in treating more than 30 complicated cases such as giant pituitary tumors, craniopharyngiomas, meningiomas of the skull base, osteochondromas of the basal slope region, etc. All have achieved positive results, helping to increase surgical safety and shorten recovery time.

In addition to applying the new system, the Department of Neurosurgery, Cho Ray Hospital also deployed 3 Tesla MRI machine in diagnosis and pre-operative planning, aiming at individualizing the treatment of brain tumors in functional areas. This allows doctors to optimize the rate of tumor removal while ensuring the patient's vital functions.

The mark from this particular case has shown that when modern advances are applied in a timely and correct manner, they will become a bridge between medicine and the journey of revival. Each successful case, in addition to statistics, is also a hope for those who once thought they had no chance.

Nhat Thanh

Source: https://nhandan.vn/benh-vien-cho-ray-tien-phong-ung-dung-he-thong-phau-thuat-noi-soi-than-kinh-4k-icg-post928083.html