For the first time, Vietnam successfully transplanted both heart and lungs into a patient with multiple organ failure.

(Chinhphu.vn) - The patient successfully received a heart and lung transplant at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital nearly 4 weeks ago. "We have given the mother back a daughter, given the child back a mother and given the sister back her sister."

The patient's health is improving well - Photo: VGP

On the morning of August 13, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital announced the first successful simultaneous lung and heart transplant in Vietnam. This was a 38-year-old female patient with severe multiple organ failure, who was taking medication to sustain her life, had constant difficulty breathing, and was at risk of death by the day.

Hospital's imprint of simultaneous heart-lung and heart-liver transplants

Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that the success of the simultaneous heart-lung transplant for a patient with multiple organ failure has opened an important milestone, affirming the great progress of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in the field of multiple organ transplantation, at the same time setting a milestone for Vietnamese medicine on the world map as well as opening up many opportunities to save lives and new treatment directions for patients with end-stage heart and lung disease.

In the past 2 years alone, the number of organ transplants at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital has grown strongly, bringing new life to hundreds of patients, contributing to promoting professional development and improving the quality of treatment. In October 2024, for the first time in Vietnam, the Hospital also successfully transplanted both a heart and liver to a male patient (41 years old).

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Huu Lu, Deputy Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that heart-lung transplantation is an advanced medical technique in which the patient's heart and lungs are simultaneously replaced with a healthy heart and lungs from a suitable donor.

This is the last resort treatment for patients with both end-stage heart and lung disease, when all other treatments have failed.

The successful surgery lasted 7 hours - Photo: VGP

The surgery requires high technique, coordination of many specialties and a special resuscitation and post-operative care system. Worldwide, heart-lung transplants are rarely performed due to the need for rare organs, complex surgical procedures and high risk of complications.

This technique is indicated for cases of simultaneous heart disease and end-stage lung disease when all other treatments are no longer effective. Common situations include: Complex congenital heart disease with Eisenmenger-type pulmonary hypertension; severe pulmonary hypertension causing irreversible right heart failure or end-stage lung disease with irreversible left heart disease.

"Due to the requirement for rare organ sources and extremely complex techniques, only about 100 of these transplants are performed worldwide each year," said Associate Professor Pham Huu Lu.

At major centers around the world, the success rate of heart-lung transplantation has improved dramatically. In the UK, the 90-day survival rate is around 85% and the 1-year survival rate is 72%. In the US, some leading centers such as Stanford Health Care have recorded 1-year survival rates approaching 90%, higher than the national average.

Many international reports also show that the 5-year survival rate after transplantation is currently around 60%, demonstrating the effectiveness of this method in prolonging and improving the quality of life for patients.

Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management: The Ministry of Health will also submit to the National Assembly contents to help the field of organ transplantation continue to develop in the coming time - Photo: VGP/HM

There will be a heart-lung transplant procedure and specific instructions nationwide.

With this special transplant in Vietnam, the heart-lung transplant technique was performed in a smooth, multidisciplinary collaboration during the 7-hour surgery. Experts had to use extracorporeal circulation to temporarily replace the heart and lungs during this time, while ensuring the heart functioned well but avoiding excessive fluid infusion causing pulmonary edema, using less anesthesia, and using the most advanced hemodynamic monitoring equipment.

The doctors had to cut both lungs to fit, connect the two main bronchi instead of the traditional trachea to better perfuse the anastomosis, and use a flexible bronchoscope during surgery to evaluate the two main bronchi anastomoses.

After lung transplantation, patients need to use strong immunosuppressants but are very susceptible to infection because they are connected to the outside and the donor lung is already infected with multi-resistant A. Baummani bacteria, so it is necessary to balance the dose of immunosuppressants (because the drug reduces resistance), and ultrafiltration of the blood to treat kidney failure due to many causes. The team of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital also consulted to stop nephrotoxic antibiotics and control the concentration of immunosuppressants so that the kidneys are less toxic and recover after 2 weeks; increase intravenous and digestive nutrition, clean the lungs by tracheostomy, suction and rehabilitation exercises.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital: The success of the simultaneous heart-lung transplant for a patient with multiple organ failure has opened an important milestone - Photo: VGP/HM

Currently, the patient's health has improved significantly, the patient is alert and cooperative. The heart and lung transplant is progressing well, breathing is normal, and mobility is gradually improving.

At the event, Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health, congratulated the doctors and medical staff of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, and congratulated the patients and their families.

Since 1992, when Vietnam successfully transplanted its first organ, a kidney transplant, then more difficult transplants such as liver, heart, limb... then lung transplant - an extremely difficult transplant technique, today, we can declare the simultaneous heart and lung transplant successful. This is an outstanding and outstanding progress of the Vietnamese medical industry in the field of organ transplant. We can stand shoulder to shoulder with other countries in the world in terms of technique, will and breakthroughs in this field.

"We have given back a daughter to the mother, a mother to a child, and a sister to a younger sister," Dr. Ha Anh Duc affirmed.

The leader of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health also said that the Department will quickly work with experts to evaluate the heart-lung transplant process and provide specific instructions nationwide. At the same time, in May 2026, the Ministry of Health will also submit to the National Assembly contents to help the field of organ transplantation continue to develop in the coming time.

In 2025, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital performed the highest number of cases of organ retrieval and transplantation from brain-dead donors ever. The program of organ retrieval and transplantation from brain-dead donors at the Hospital has been carried out since 2010 and is the first hospital in the country to perform this technique. The average number of brain-dead donors per year is 8-10 cases, the highest in 2025 was 25 cases of brain-dead donors.

Since the end of 2023, especially in 2025, there has been a sharp increase in the number of brain-dead donors. From August 2024 to August 2025, the Hospital has mobilized more than 50 cases of severe traumatic brain injury to agree to donate organs, and performed multiple organ retrieval from 34 brain-dead donors.

Hien Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/lan-dau-tien-viet-nam-ghep-thanh-cong-dong-thoi-tim-va-phoi-cho-nguoi-suy-da-tang-102250813103928629.htm