First kidney-pancreas transplant successful in Vietnam

HANOI, 4 March (VNA) - Doctors at Hanoi-based Hospital 103 successfully conducted a kidney-pancreas transplant operation on March 3, marking a great breakthrough of the Vietnamese medical profession. The information was revealed by Lieutenant-General Nguyen Tien Binh, Director of the Military Medical Academy . Associate Professor Hoang Manh An, Director of Hospital 103, said this is the first time Vietnamese doctors have successfully conducted this kind of organ transplant. The 43 year-old patient was transplanted with a kidney and pancreas donated by a brain-dead person in a fatal traffic accident. More than 150 medical workers from the Military Medial Academy and Hospital 103 engaged in the 13-hour surgery. An said that the success has opened up prospects for Vietnamese doctors to affirm their qualifications on a par with international standards.-VNA