New age techniques help patients regain their lives

(Dan Tri) - From relying only on traditional medicine and basic debridement, wound treatment techniques have been strongly developed by the Vietnamese medical industry, mastering new generation techniques, saving many critical cases.

From relying only on traditional medicine and basic debridement, wound treatment techniques have been strongly developed by the Vietnamese medical industry, mastering new generation techniques, saving many critical cases.

Holding the hand of her doctor after going through a life-threatening situation, the 53-year-old woman burst into tears: "I don't know what else to say, I really thank you so much, doctor...".

On the hospital bed, her leg was still bandaged.

One day in April, a patient named N. felt pain in her leg, so she went to a clinic near her home to get injections and apply an unknown medicine. Not long after returning home, a fever came and tormented her. The fever was high all the time, but she only bought fever-reducing medicine to take.

On the afternoon of April 14, relatives found the patient sleeping lethargically. When they checked, they were shocked to discover that the patient was in a deep coma.

At the local hospital, the patient was diagnosed with a widespread infection in the leg wound, and his blood sugar spiked to an extremely dangerous level. The patient was given first aid and then urgently transferred to Trung Vuong Hospital (HCMC).

Here, doctors determined that the patient had diabetes complications, severe cellulitis in the legs, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, and a very high mortality rate. Immediately, the multidisciplinary treatment team raced against time to save the patient's life. The patient received intervention from an endocrinologist to regulate blood sugar, along with respiratory support and wound care.

After 10 days on a ventilator and blood sugar control, the woman continued to have her diet adjusted. When her health was stable, doctors at the Wound Treatment Unit of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department performed surgical debridement of the patient's wounds.

Up to now, after many hospitalizations and intensive wound care at Trung Vuong Hospital, the patient has overcome the critical stage and escaped the risk of amputation and becoming disabled.

Re-examining the patient before discharge, Dr. Nguyen Huu Hieu, Department of Burns and Cosmetic Surgery, shared that Ms. N. arbitrarily applied medicine to the wound and bought illegal painkillers to treat long-term arthritis, and did not control her blood sugar well, leading to serious complications and acute kidney failure.

If admitted to hospital later, the cellulitis and respiratory failure will worsen and the patient may die.

“When I was admitted to the hospital, I found out that I had severe diabetes. Without the doctor, I would not have survived. The doctor was like a parent, helping me survive from a life-or-death situation. Now I will go home, follow the treatment and eat carefully…”, Ms. N. continuously expressed.

On hot summer days, Ms. Y. took her husband, Mr. NVT (43 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City), to the hospital in a state of drowsiness and shock from genital infection.

She said he had a history of type 2 diabetes and chronic hepatitis B but had not been treated continuously. A few days before being admitted to the hospital, his genital area, skin around the anus, both groins and lower abdomen suddenly became damaged and ulcerated rapidly.

At Trung Vuong Hospital, doctors determined that the patient had Fournier syndrome.

“This is a rare but very dangerous syndrome with a high mortality rate, causing necrosis of the skin and tissue in the genital area and surrounding areas. If not treated promptly, he could lose his life,” the wife said, her voice still filled with shock.

The hospital activated a hospital-wide consultation and decided to perform multidisciplinary emergency surgery.

The Burn Department is responsible for removing necrotic skin and subcutaneous tissue in the abdomen, groin, bilateral scrotum, perineum, and around the anus, while preserving both testicles, the penis, and the anal sphincter. The Urology Department opens the bladder to the skin, and General Surgery performs temporary colostomy.

The surgery was a tense race against time. The team of doctors coordinated extremely well and closely.

The operation was successful.

With intensive treatment and careful wound care, the patient was out of shock and the wounds were no longer infected.

“This was a challenging case for the plastic surgery team to cover the testicles, perineal defect and sacral area, as the patient had lost almost all of the skin in these areas.

But with our utmost efforts, we not only saved lives, but also helped patients completely heal their injuries and return to normal activities," said Master, Doctor, CK2 Dinh Phuong Dong, in charge of the Wound Treatment Unit, Department of Burns - Cosmetic Surgery.

For Ms. Hong Quyen (32 years old, name changed), life tragedy struck at the moment the patient hoped for a change in appearance, when she went to have liposuction on her abdomen and fat grafting into the hollows of her buttocks on both sides at a cosmetic facility.

One week after the cosmetic surgery, the patient’s buttocks were swollen, hot, red and painful. The cosmetic facility prescribed antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers for 2 weeks, but the condition did not improve and the symptoms gradually increased. The fat grafting site, even the woman’s groin and left thigh, were swollen and oozing pus.

The patient was then admitted to a medical facility and was scheduled for two surgeries to remove the infection and use broad-spectrum antibiotics. When the infection persisted and the wound continued to ooze pus, Ms. Hong Quyen was transferred to Trung Vuong Hospital for emergency treatment.

After examination, the treatment team prescribed surgery to expand the infection site, and performed routine culture, antibiotic susceptibility, and histopathology tests. In addition, the patient was also screened to check for tuberculosis infection.

Due to the spread of infection along the autologous fat grafting site, the patient's necrotic area spread from the buttocks, groin to the anterior thigh.

“Based on the symptoms, we give the patient empirical antibiotics and place a negative pressure suction machine (VAC) to remove exudate, reduce swelling, and increase blood flow to the tissue, promoting wound healing.

The patient underwent three surgeries to debride, partially close the wound, and graft skin. After three months of inpatient treatment, follow-up visits, and monitoring, the wound on Ms. Quyen's body finally healed, helping the woman no longer feel self-conscious about her deformed body," Dr. Dong happily shared.

Doctor Dinh Phuong Dong said that wound care and treatment in our country goes through many stages, reflecting the social context of each period.

During the war before 1975, due to shortages, treatment mainly relied on traditional medicine such as herbal medicine, topical leaf poultices, acupuncture, basic first aid and debridement, and rudimentary bandages. Some field hospitals applied basic Western medical techniques, but many cases still required amputations or deaths due to severe infections due to lack of medicine and equipment.

After unification, there was little trade during the subsidy period, and this field was not given much attention. Since 1986, when the renovation began, healthcare has rapidly modernized with advanced technology, tools and machinery; new generation bandages and antibiotics have become popular; and the staff has been trained to meet international standards.

Up to now, Vietnam has achieved many outstanding achievements, optimizing treatment effectiveness, shortening hospital stays, and meeting the increasing demand for care.

At Trung Vuong Hospital, the Wound Treatment Unit of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department was established in 2012 with 22 staff members, receiving dozens of cases of severe injuries due to complications of diabetes, trauma, extensive burns, and cosmetic complications every day.

Over the past thirteen years, the team here has developed synchronous techniques: treating burn scars, reconstructing sequelae, treating chronic wounds that are difficult to heal, pressure ulcers, and diabetic foot complications.

The unit uses a hydraulic knife to selectively cut necrosis with a water jet to limit damage to healthy tissue, reducing the number of surgeries; a negative pressure suction machine VAC for slow-healing wounds to clean the base and fill the defect; and a perforated skin flap surgery to cover pressure ulcers, helping to heal quickly and reduce complications.

With burn treatment, many patients with burns over 80%, including many cases with deep burns of 40-60%, have been saved.

Due to the complex nature of patients, medical staff must have a solid understanding of acute and chronic wounds, correctly assess the stage to choose the appropriate strategy; be proficient in changing dressings with new generation preparations, operate modern equipment such as ultrasonic cutting, cold plasma, and local tissue oxygenation; and continuously update methods.

The job requires long surgical times, meticulous manipulation, dealing with patient pain and the risk of exposure to infected wounds, causing both physical and mental stress.

In fact, there are still patients who do not have access to specialized bandages or are not examined by the right specialist, leading to incorrect treatment. Many modern care facilities are not covered by health insurance, are expensive and require prolonged use.

According to Dr. Dinh Phuong Dong, multidisciplinary coordination between Burns, Plastic Surgery, Wound Treatment with Intensive Care, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Respiratory, Nutrition, Nursing and Rehabilitation is the key to improving efficiency.

He emphasized that patients need to comply with the regimen and return for follow-up visits on time, because "active cooperation between the people and the medical team will help facilitate treatment, reduce complications and improve quality of life."

Photo: Hoang Le, provided by doctor

Design: Tuan Huy

Content: Hoang Le

08/20/2025 - 06:03

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/nhung-ky-thuat-thoi-dai-moi-giup-benh-nhan-tim-lai-cuoc-doi-20250819221323064.htm