Professor Ton That Tung, born on May 10, 1912 in Thanh Hoa, was only three months old when his father passed away. That same year, his mother moved the whole family to Hue to live. Coming from a noble family of the Nguyen Dynasty (his father was Ton That Nien, Governor of Thanh Hoa), Professor Ton That Tung did not follow his family's career as an official but was determined to study Western education. He said: "I was fed up with the sight of the officials in Hue: on one hand, they were scared to death of the French, on the other hand, they trampled on their own working people." Therefore, after completing the program at Quoc Hoc School, in 1931 he went to Hanoi to study at Bao Ho High School (also known as Buoi School) to complete his Baccalaureate program. In 1935, he passed the entrance exam to Hanoi Medical University, a member school of the Indochina University, with the concept that medicine was a "free" profession, not dependent on officials or the colonial government, and did not distinguish between classes.

Late Professor, Doctor Ton That Tung (wearing glasses) introduced Viet Duc Hospital to Uncle Ho during one of his visits to the hospital. Photo: Document

During the August Revolution of 1945, Professor Ton That Tung's greatest joy was to treat and examine President Ho Chi Minh : "One day I was urgently called to see an old comrade. When I entered the room, I met a thin, pale old man, but with bright eyes... from that first meeting, my soul changed with the revolution, under the light of Uncle Ho's eyes". Every time he came to treat Uncle Ho, after giving him an injection, Uncle Ho often asked him about his work and family. When he heard that he had his first son, Uncle said: "Let me name him. Your name has the word wood, so I will name your son Bach".

After the success of the August Revolution, he was appointed Director of Phu Doan Hospital, Hanoi. Like other intellectuals in our country, Professor - Doctor Ton That Tung always received attention, help and trust from the Party and Uncle Ho.

In 1947, Professor Ton That Tung was appointed by the Government to hold the position of Deputy Minister of Health , with the responsibility of building and developing the health sector to become a resistance front and grow stronger later. In 1949, in the middle of the Viet Bac mountains, despite the shortages on all sides, he and Professor Dang Van Ngu successfully organized the production of Penicillin to treat wounds for the army from the Border battlefield to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. This is considered a miraculous achievement that no one in the past and present has been able to do in guerrilla warfare with primitive tools.

Uncle Ho was very interested in the successful production of the antibiotic Penicillin, a valuable medicine used to treat wounded soldiers. For that achievement, Dr. Dang Van Ngu and he were awarded medals. Dr. Dang Van Ngu was awarded the Third Class Resistance Medal. As for him, Uncle Ho said: “I allow you to choose any medal you want, you vote for it yourself!”. He chose the Third Class Resistance Medal for himself. A few days later, one evening, Uncle Ho invited the Government Council to a dinner to present him with a medal. Uncle Ho invited Mr. Ton Duc Thang to pin the medal. Uncle Ho said: “Uncle Tung is a cidevant (a term used by the French Revolution in 1789 for nobles) and has now been awarded a medal by our Government. You must try harder!”

During the resistance war, although he was busy with a thousand and one things, Uncle Ho always paid attention to and closely followed the contributions of doctors to the country's medicine. During his days in Phu Tho, he received a card from Uncle Ho. The card was typed in purple ink, on which Uncle Ho wrote: "Doctor Tung, Minister of National Defense and Minister of Health, reported: you are working very enthusiastically. I am very pleased. You keep trying. The resistance war will definitely be victorious. The Fatherland will remember the merits of good children and filial grandchildren. Are you and your children all well? I am always safe. Sending you my warmest greetings and determination to win."

Uncle Ho's compliments, advice, thoughtful inquiries and affection greatly encouraged him, helping him to work better and better in his professional work, because he thought: "With Uncle Ho's care, what can I not do?

During the period from 1958 to 1961, Professor Ton That Tung successfully researched the method of "planned liver resection", commonly known as the "Dry liver surgery method" or "Ton That Tung method", saving the lives of tens of thousands of patients on the verge of death. Those scientific works were recognized and honored by the whole world, in the newspaper Lyon Surgery (Lyon chirurgical - France) in 1964 wrote: "Hanoi Medical University can be proud of having two achievements in its history, one is the first research on the structure of the blood vessels in the liver, the other is the first success in planned liver resection". In addition to being a good doctor in liver surgery, Professor Ton That Tung was also the first doctor to successfully perform heart surgery in Vietnam...

With his great contributions to medicine at home and abroad, he was elected as an Academician of the Academy of Medicine of the Soviet Union, a member of the National Society of Surgeons of the German Democratic Republic, a member of the Paris Academy of Surgery, a member of the National Society of Surgeons of Algeria...

Professor, Doctor Ton That Tung was awarded the title of Hero of Labor by our State and the Ho Chi Minh Medal, the First Class Labor Medal, the First Class Soldier Medal, the Third Class Resistance Medal, and the Ho Chi Minh Prize. Since 2000, our State has established a Medical Award named after him: the Ton That Tung Award.

Le Ha