The first case is patient D.PL (21 years old, university student) who is overweight and obese. In 2024, he often had high fever and fatigue, so he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with hepatitis and needed medication. The disease progressed so quickly that in early 2025, he had cirrhosis and needed a liver transplant to be cured.
“I registered to receive organs from the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation, but just a few months later, my body started to swell, I was very tired, sometimes I couldn't move, I just lay still in one place,” he recalled.
Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Viet Cuong - Deputy Director (left cover) and Major General, Dr. Tran Quoc Viet - Director of Military Hospital 175 (right cover) - hand over discharge papers to 2 patients. |
When admitted to Military Hospital 175, Mr. L. had end-stage liver failure, severe blood clotting disorder, bleeding, generalized edema, multi-cavity effusion, complete collapse of the right lung, and hepatic coma. The prognosis for death was very high. Because he was quite tall and obese (weighing 108kg), in order for a liver transplant to be performed, the donated liver had to be large enough.
“On average, an adult liver weighs about 1.3 kg, while the liver transplant for patient L. must weigh 1 kg, which would be dangerous for the donor if too much was taken. However, his condition was too severe, he had to be given breathing support, had pleural effusion, subcutaneous fluid retention... if he did not have a liver transplant, his prognosis would be very poor. Luckily, a relative of the patient volunteered to donate his liver, and the donor was also in a large physical condition, so L. had more hope,” said Major, Master, Doctor Nguyen Van Manh, Department of Abdominal Surgery, Military Hospital 175.
After receiving compatible results, within just 3 days, the medical team successfully transplanted the liver, saving Mr. L.'s life. Currently, his health is progressing well and he can be discharged from the hospital.
He was moved: “There were times when I thought I would not survive because I had difficulty breathing. I sincerely thank the doctors who gave me a second life and my relatives who donated my liver to me in time.”
Mr. L. shares after liver transplant |
Mr. THM - Lieutenant Colonel, Head of Regiment 20, Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa - was "resurrected" after a "lightning-fast" liver transplant within 24 hours.
Mr. M. has had hepatitis B for a long time and has been treated at many hospitals but with no improvement. In mid-July 2025, he fell into acute liver failure and hepatic coma. His life was counted in days and he needed a liver transplant immediately to be saved.
On July 16, after hearing the doctor's explanation, the two relatives who brought him to Military Hospital 175, his younger brother and his brother-in-law, decided to donate their livers. As a result, only his younger brother (also a military officer) could donate his liver to Mr. M. This was the first case in the military where the organ donor was an active soldier.
Because Mr. M's illness was so severe, Military Hospital 175 consulted with Military Central Hospital 108 to perform a liver transplant for Mr. M and agreed that the transplant must be performed as soon as possible.
Within 24 hours of admission, the hospital completed all preparations and surgery.
“To save time, at 5pm the same day we had a consultation, and at 7pm we received information that two experts from the 108 Military Central Hospital had boarded a plane to Ho Chi Minh City, and the surgical team at the 175 Military Hospital began making an incision to receive the organ. At 0am, the experts were present in the operating room to continue the liver transplant for the patient. At 7am the next morning, the transplant was successful,” said Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Viet Cuong, Deputy Director of the hospital.
Mr. M.'s health has now recovered, he has been discharged from the hospital, and his younger brother has returned to work after donating his liver.
Major General Tran Quoc Viet - Director of Military Hospital 175 - said that the hospital will officially implement liver transplant techniques from December 2024, after more than 1 year of actively preparing human resources, material resources, practical training and technology transfer from Military Central Hospital 108.
“After 7 months of implementation, the hospital has successfully performed 8 liver transplants, including 2 emergency transplants. The hospital has also successfully performed 71 kidney transplants, including 2 transplants from brain-dead donors.
This is the effort of the whole system, with careful preparation in all aspects from human resources to equipment, bringing rapid progress and remarkable maturity in the hospital's expertise, and is also a solid step forward in the journey to implement the Organ Transplant Project assigned by the Ministry of National Defense" - Major General Tran Quoc Viet said.
According to him, with the orientation of becoming the leading military-civilian organ transplant center in the Southern region, Military Hospital 175 is now able to perform liver transplants for all adults with end-stage liver disease, in both active and emergency transplant programs.
Source: https://ttbc-hcm.gov.vn/benh-vien-quan-y-175-thuc-hien-thanh-cong-2-ca-ghep-gan-cap-cuu-1019274.html
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