Talented and compassionate military doctor

Pursuing the desire to save people

Le Manh Cuong's childhood is associated with an unforgettable memory, that is the time Cuong went to take care of his mother in the hospital because of appendicitis. The 9th grade student quietly watched the doctors and nurses devotedly taking care of patients, despite the shortages during the subsidy period. The image of the white blouse, the kindness and compassion instilled in the student's heart a sense of respect and a desire to save people. In addition, stories about famous doctors such as Tue Tinh, Hai Thuong Lan Ong... or from relatives in his family who practiced traditional medicine further urged him to pursue a career in medicine.

A great opportunity came for Le Manh Cuong to continue pursuing his dream when in 1987, with excellent academic achievements, the student of Nguyen Dinh Chieu High School was one of two students from Tien Giang at that time (now My Tho ward, Dong Thap province) admitted to the Military Medical Academy. 6 years later, in October 1993, Le Manh Cuong graduated and was assigned to work at Military Hospital 120. At that time, the hospital was still poor, with only old buildings, lacking equipment, few doctors, each person had to take on many tasks, and work continuously at night. However, it was in that hardship that his will and sense of responsibility as a soldier-doctor were forged.

Colonel, Specialist II Doctor Le Manh Cuong (far left) visits and checks the patient's health.

In 2002, appointed as Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the age of 33, Dr. Le Manh Cuong continued to affirm his professional competence and medical ethics. The Department of Infectious Diseases is a place to treat complex diseases such as tuberculosis, dangerous infectious diseases such as meningococcal disease, dengue fever... and is also a place that not many young doctors are willing to choose. However, with his talent and dedication to the profession, he has not only successfully treated many difficult cases but also changed the way his colleagues view this quiet but challenging job.

There are cases that leave an unforgettable mark. Such as the case of a young woman in Ben Tre , suffering from severe pulmonary tuberculosis, exhaustion, and postpartum anxiety disorder. The patient's spirit was broken, she did not cooperate with treatment, and urinated in bed. Many people were discouraged, thinking that it would be difficult to save her. But he encouraged the whole team: "She is young, there is still hope, we must save her!". After 2 months of persistent treatment combined with nutritional care and psychological intervention, the patient had basically recovered, and the test results showed no more tuberculosis bacilli. After 6 months of consolidation treatment, the patient fully recovered. Witnessing the joy of the patient when overcoming the serious illness, he felt very happy and reminded himself that he needed to constantly strive to improve his medical skills, contributing more to the work of taking care of the health of soldiers and people.

Contribute to building the most modern Nephrology-Dialysis Department in the West

In 2010, when the number of patients with end-stage chronic kidney failure in Tien Giang increased rapidly, the province's only dialysis facility, the Artificial Kidney Unit of Tien Giang General Hospital, was seriously overloaded. Each day, this unit only received 5 dialysis cases. Many poor patients who were not eligible for higher-level treatment had to accept medical treatment or insufficient dialysis doses. As a result, complications increased and the risk of death was always present.

That became even more painful for Dr. Le Manh Cuong, because his father was also a kidney failure patient. Due to the overload of the artificial kidney dialysis system in Tien Giang, he had to travel all the way to Thong Nhat Hospital ( Ho Chi Minh City) for treatment. Witnessing his father in pain and fatigue after a long journey and hours of dialysis, he understood more deeply the hardship of patients with end-stage chronic kidney failure. That urged him to be determined at all costs to build an Artificial Kidney Unit at Military Hospital 120.

Assigned the task by the Party Committee and the Hospital Board of Directors, Dr. Le Manh Cuong started the job almost from scratch, when human resources were lacking, facilities were limited, and practical experience in this field was almost non-existent at the hospital. Undaunted, he and his colleagues persevered in learning, building technical processes, mobilizing all resources, and personally training the team.

On the morning of June 1, 2010, the first dialysis session at Military Hospital 120 was successfully performed, opening the door of hope for many patients with end-stage renal failure. Starting with only 5 NIPRO dialysis machines, 2 doctors and 4 nurses, after 15 years of construction and development, the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis has become one of the 3 largest dialysis centers in the Mekong Delta. Currently, the department regularly serves more than 400 patients, performing an average of 200 dialysis sessions per day. This achievement not only demonstrates the growth in scale but also is a testament to the vision, determination and devoted heart, wholeheartedly for the patients of Colonel, Doctor, Specialist II Le Manh Cuong, who laid the foundation and devoted all his heart to developing the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis from the early difficult days. With outstanding achievements in medical examination and treatment, in 2013, he was awarded the title of Meritorious Physician by the President.

Courage in the midst of an epidemic, kindness in everyday life

In 2021, when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out in the southwestern provinces, Dr. Le Manh Cuong was appointed as Director of Infectious Diseases Field Hospital No. 6 - one of the frontline hospitals receiving, isolating, and treating F0 patients of Military Region 9.

Taking on the role of commander in a difficult situation, with great pressure and high risk of infection, he remained at the epicenter for many months, directly directing and managing all activities of receiving, triaging, providing emergency care and treating patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Field Hospital No. 6 has received and treated nearly 2,710 Covid-19 patients, with no deaths, successfully controlled many severe cases, organized the injection of more than 33,000 doses of vaccine, and collected tens of thousands of test samples. These telling numbers are a testament to the spirit of dedication, sacrifice and fortitude of a steadfast commander during the pandemic.

For his outstanding contributions to the work of epidemic prevention and control, Colonel, Doctor Le Manh Cuong was awarded the Third Class Labor Medal by the President; the Prime Minister, the Head of the Ministry of National Defense, and the People's Committee of Tien Giang province awarded many certificates of merit. However, for him, the most precious reward is the affection and letters of gratitude from recovered patients for him and the team of doctors, medical staff, officers and employees of the Infectious Diseases Field Hospital No. 6.

As Deputy Director of Military Hospital 120, Colonel, Doctor Le Manh Cuong is in charge of directing key departments such as: Surgery - Emergency Resuscitation, Kidney - Blood Dialysis, Testing... He does not hesitate to spend time going around the hospital rooms, listening and absorbing all comments from patients, promptly adjusting limitations. At the same time, he regularly innovates management methods, does a good job of political and ideological education, builds a united, disciplined but friendly working environment, and motivates staff, doctors and employees to maximize their professional capacity. The image of a close, serious but dedicated leader has left a deep impression, becoming a motivation for the staff, doctors and employees of Military Hospital 120 to learn and follow.

Over the years, Colonel, Doctor Le Manh Cuong, together with the Party Committee and Board of Directors of Military Hospital 120, has successfully developed many modern techniques such as arthroscopic surgery, hip and knee replacement, Phaco surgery, HDF-online blood filtration... By the end of 2024, Military Hospital 120 has examined over 300,000 people, treated nearly 31,000 inpatients, performed more than 9,200 surgeries and more than 62,000 blood filtrations, without any serious complications.

With nearly 35 years of working in the military medical industry, regardless of his position, Colonel, BSCKII Le Manh Cuong has always been dedicated, responsible and exemplary. Those silent but great contributions have contributed to building the brand of Military Hospital 120 - a trusted medical address for the military and people in the Mekong Delta region. In the hearts of his comrades and people, he is a simple but noble example, a doctor with good expertise and good medical ethics.

Article and photos: TRAN ANH MINH

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-16/nguoi-thay-thuoc-quan-y-tai-nang-nhan-ai-839086