White coat "researcher" helps patients escape the fear of amputation

(Dan Tri) - With a love for his profession and dedication to his patients, over the years, Dr. Pham Tran Xuan Anh has always strived and passionately researched medical innovations to find better treatment methods for patients.

Hospital "researcher"

Coming from the countryside of Dien Ban Bac ward, Da Nang city, doctor Pham Tran Xuan Anh (58 years old), Deputy Director of Da Nang Hospital, still remembers clearly his childhood days following his mother, Mrs. Tran Thi Tan, to the hospital where she worked as a nurse.

In the young boy's innocent eyes at that time, the image of his mother wearing a white blouse, patiently standing by the patient's bedside, caring like a blood relative, planted in him a love for the medical profession, a love that later became the guiding principle for the male doctor's entire life.

Doctor Pham Tran Xuan Anh is currently Deputy Director of Da Nang Hospital (Photo: Hoai Son).

Working in the medical industry for more than 30 years, Dr. Xuan Anh has spent many sleepless nights in the operating room, witnessing the pain and tears of patients.

Since then, he understands better than anyone that behind each patient case is not only a professional challenge, but also a battle with circumstances and treatment costs, especially for poor patients who live far from the hospital.

“Every time I see them worried about hospital fees, I ask myself, is there any way to optimize treatment and help patients reduce costs?”, he confided.

From those concerns, over the years, Dr. Xuan Anh and his colleagues have quietly researched dozens of scientific topics and technical initiatives, with the desire to join hands to reduce the burden on patients.

Doctor Xuan Anh always quietly researches and studies many new medical techniques (Photo: Hoai Son).

Many of his works have been applied immediately in treatment, bringing about clear results. Not only is he good at his profession, from 2003 to now, he and his colleagues have carried out 18 research projects that have been accepted at the grassroots level and reported at many domestic and international conferences.

That passion helped him receive many worthy awards such as the Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Award in 2019 and 2022, Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister, Certificate of typical progress in the period 2020-2025, Outstanding Intellectual of the Vietnam Medical Association, Third-class Labor Medal.

Most recently, he received the Certificate of typical advanced performance in the patriotic emulation movement for the period 2020-2025 awarded by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.

Efforts to help patients shorten treatment time and costs

One of the projects that he is most proud of is the research on creating leg and hand shapes using skin from the lower abdomen and pelvis. The initiative won first prize in the Da Nang Science and Technology Innovation Competition, second prize at the National level and was included in the Golden Book of Vietnamese Creativity.

According to Dr. Xuan Anh, upper limb injuries are common injuries caused by traffic accidents, work or daily activities. These injuries are often very complicated, making patients vulnerable to the risk of amputation.

Not only is he a good professional, Dr. Xuan Anh is also an inspirational teacher for young people in the profession (Photo: Anh Xuan).

At the central level, the above cases can be treated with microsurgery, but at provincial and district hospitals, applying this technique faces numerous difficulties such as lack of specialized human resources, expensive equipment, and complicated procedures for importing medical equipment.

“Therefore, most patients at the primary level are only treated with methods such as debridement, skin grafting or even amputation, which prolongs treatment, is costly and causes psychological trauma,” said Dr. Xuan Anh.

Faced with that situation, Dr. Xuan Anh researched a complex microsurgical alternative solution using a skin flap with a continuous vascular pedicle in the lower abdomen, nourished by an arterial system, with vascular branches that have a constant structure, ensuring a stable blood supply.

This solution not only helps preserve limbs, but also shortens treatment time, minimizes complications and costs for patients. More importantly, the technique can be deployed in provincial hospitals.

Not only is he a good professional, Dr. Xuan Anh is also an inspirational teacher for the younger generation in the profession. He always reminds his colleagues and students: “When we still know how to ask the questions “why” and “how” to each problem, it means we still keep the flame of love for the profession and compassion for the patients.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/nha-nghien-cuu-ao-trang-giup-benh-nhan-thoat-khoi-noi-am-anh-cat-cut-chi-20251111165445419.htm