Dong Nai General Hospital masters difficult techniques to treat esophageal cancer

The patient and his wife thanked the doctors of the Department of General Surgery - Digestive, Dong Nai General Hospital before being discharged. Photo: Hanh Dung

Mr. C. said that at the end of March 2025, he choked while eating rice. The symptoms of choking increased, so he went to a lower-level hospital for a health check. The doctor performed an endoscopy and discovered that Mr. C. had a malignant tumor in his esophagus, so he was urgently transferred to Dong Nai General Hospital.

Specialist II Doctor Nguyen Kim Kien, Deputy Head of the Department of General Surgery - Digestive Medicine at Dong Nai General Hospital, said that the patient was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and was prescribed chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, on July 9, the patient underwent surgery to remove a large tumor in the esophagus.

For more than 8 hours, the doctors had to be very focused, performing precise and meticulous operations, operating in 3 areas. Including laparoscopic surgery in the chest to remove the esophageal tumor, then opening the abdomen to remove the stomach to recreate a new digestive tract, then inserting a tunnel up the neck, connecting from the cervical esophagus to the stomach.

According to Dr. Kien, this is a very difficult major surgery. There are many nerves and large blood vessels in the patient's chest. If the entire team is not highly focused, just one small mistake will cause the surgery to fail.

The surgery was successful beyond expectations, and the patient recovered quickly. After being discharged from the hospital, the patient was scheduled for a follow-up appointment to continue chemotherapy.

Dr. Kien shared that the technique of thoracoabdominal endoscopic surgery, cutting and reconstructing the esophagus to treat esophageal cancer is a specialized and very difficult technique, currently very few provincial hospitals can do it. This technique was transferred to the hospital by experts from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City 2 years ago. However, this is the first case where the team from Dong Nai General Hospital can perform the entire procedure themselves.

The fact that the provincial hospital in Dong Nai can perform this advanced technique not only helps reduce the burden on the upper-level hospital but also helps patients, especially those in difficult circumstances, have the opportunity to receive treatment, reducing costs and travel effort...

Esophageal cancer is currently one of the 14 most common cancers. In the early stages, the disease has no symptoms, and only when the patient begins to have difficulty swallowing will they go to the doctor, at which point it is already quite late, the tumor has grown large and narrowed the digestive tract. Therefore, doctors recommend that people over 45-50 years old should have an endoscopy to screen the esophagus and stomach, and if there are problems, they should be treated early.

Hanh Dung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/tin-moi/202507/benh-vien-da-khoa-dong-nai-lam-chu-ky-thuat-kho-dieu-tri-benh-ung-thu-thuc-quan-53b16c8/