New challenge to keep pregnancy for Singaporean mother and child in Vietnam for treatment

(Dan Tri) - A Singaporean pregnant woman in a recent fetal heart catheterization was found to have a dangerous chronic disease. Vietnamese and Singaporean doctors are trying to bring the patient back home safely.

On June 9, in Ho Chi Minh City, a ceremony was held to award certificates of merit from the Minister of Health to doctors from Children's Hospital 1 and Tu Du Hospital for their outstanding achievements in performing trans-fetal cardiac catheterization.

"To save people, just do it"

Accordingly, 7 individuals in the fetal intervention team for the Singaporean pregnant woman were honored to receive certificates of merit from Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan.

Specialist Doctor 2 Tran Ngoc Hai, Director of Tu Du Hospital, recalled the "special number 9", when the recent fetal heart catheterization was the 9th case ever performed, and also the most difficult case that doctors at two specialized Obstetrics and Pediatrics hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have overcome.

Since 2016, Tu Du Hospital has started implementing fetal intervention techniques, which has been 9 years now.

Dr. Do Nguyen Tin - Head of the Cardiovascular Intervention Unit, Children's Hospital 1 - is one of the individuals receiving a certificate of merit from the Minister of Health (Photo: Hoang Le).

Mr. Hai thanked the leaders of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health for quickly signing the decision to approve hospitals to perform fetal intervention for the above case, with the spirit of "to save people, just do it". In addition, this case also shows that doctors in Ho Chi Minh City have mastered the most difficult technique.

Doctor Hai revealed that the fetus after the intervention is developing well, but obstetric problems still have many challenges ahead.

Associate Professor Nguyen Thanh Hung, Director of Children's Hospital 1, added that when receiving information about this case, the leaders of the two hospitals were very concerned.

Not only is this a complicated case, but there is currently no clear legal framework. If it fails or something happens during the process, things will be very difficult.

Doctors at the moment of fetal catheterization for a Singaporean pregnant woman (Photo: Hospital).

“But the baby in the womb could not wait, and the colleagues from Singapore referred us, which meant they had great confidence in our capabilities. Therefore, after consulting and receiving approval from the Ministry of Health, the doctors quickly performed and intervened,” Associate Professor Nguyen Thanh Hung shared.

Find a way to bring the mother back home safely

Specialist Doctor 2 Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 1 informed that last weekend, doctors from 2 hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and the hospital in Singapore conducted a consultation for the above case.

Currently, the pregnant woman has been found to have underlying lupus erythematosus, a chronic condition that can be dangerous for both mother and baby. The patient also experienced contractions, which were closely monitored and treated by doctors.

Regarding the baby, the left ventricular outflow tract, which was only 1.4mm wide, has been dilated to 2.9mm - more than twice as wide after the intervention. Doctors on both sides are trying to bring the mother and child back to the country safely and keep the baby until the safest birth.

Specialist 2 Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong (right cover) and her team performed fetal intervention on a Singaporean pregnant woman (Photo: Hospital).

"The patient asked to go home last Monday. However, due to the unsafe situation, the professional council decided not to let the patient go home yet.

The patient was also invited to consult with specialists to check for bleeding or hypercoagulation to proceed with treatment. As of today, the patient's obstetric condition has stabilized," added specialist 2 Dr. Tran Ngoc Hai.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health, shared that medicine is not only science , but also the art of compassion and the courage to overcome limits.

The recent fetal cardiac intervention is a typical example, where doctors did not accept the "predetermined medical verdict", but rewrote the fate of a fetus, affirming the spirit "as long as there is a ray of hope, we will fight".

“I believe that miracles like today will continue to be a source of inspiration for the entire industry, so that we can boldly step out of the “safe zone” of therapeutic medicine, moving towards preventive medicine, early intervention medicine and precision medicine – for a healthy Vietnam from the womb,” the Deputy Minister of Health emphasized.

Previously, experts from Tu Du Hospital in collaboration with experts from Children's Hospital 1 intervened in a fetus with a complex congenital heart defect of a foreign patient.

This is the case of a Singaporean woman who was 22 weeks pregnant. A maternity hospital in Singapore discovered that the fetus had a severe congenital heart disease, with a risk of stillbirth.

The Singaporean hospital proactively referred the patient to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment using fetal heart intervention techniques, because they were not yet able to perform it.

The treatment team from two hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City performed the first intervention on May 22 but was unsuccessful. On May 28, after careful preparation and close coordination between specialists, the second intervention was successfully completed.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/thach-thuc-moi-giu-thai-cho-me-con-san-phu-singapore-sang-viet-nam-chua-tri-20250609152751716.htm