{"id":9005,"date":"2021-09-01T20:29:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T12:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=9005"},"modified":"2022-03-23T12:25:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T04:25:49","slug":"ton-that-tung-surgeon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/ton-that-tung-surgeon\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t T\u00f9ng: Patriotic Liver Surgeon & Author Of World-Class Medical Advancements"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t T\u00f9ng: builder of Vietnam\u2019s modern medical foundation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Since Covid-19 outbreak hit Vietnam, many have lost their lives. Among those were doctors, nurses, and volunteers. Despite the tenacity of the Covid-19 pandemic and a high risk of exposure and death, medical forces are still going all out to treat and protect patients\u2019 lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019d like to honor our medical forces for their silent sacrifices by <\/span>bringing you a story about a Vietnamese surgeon who also made significant contributions to our country\u2019s medical foundation. In fact, he even gained global recognition for his groundbreaking innovations in the medical field of the 20th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the inspirational life story of <\/span>Professor T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t T\u00f9ng<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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An excellent medical student with a patriotic heart<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: Hanoi Medical University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor T\u00f4n was born on 10th May 1912 into a Nguyen aristocratic family. According to his family line, he was a cousin of Emperor B\u1ea3o \u0110\u1ea1i. During his childhood in Hu\u1ebf, he was often invited into the palace to study and play with the princes.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a man of such a prestigious pedigree, Professor T\u00f4n could have easily become a court mandarin just like his father, who was then the governor of Thanh H\u00f3a Province. However, he decided to chart his own path and choose his own profession.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1931, he went to Hanoi to attend the Lyc\u00e9e du Protectorat, which is today Chu V\u0103n An High School<\/strong>. 4 years later, he pursued medical studies at the \u00c9cole de M\u00e9decine de l\u2019Indochine.<\/span><\/p>\n

After graduating, he interned at Ph\u1ee7 Do\u00e3n Hospital and aspired to pursue postgraduate training at Hanoi Medical University, which was Indochina\u2019s only medical school at the time. However, the discriminatory policies enforced by the French government made it impossible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under colonial rule, Vietnamese students were not allowed to pursue residency, which is an advanced phase of graduate medical education. The reason for this discriminatory rule, according to historians, was to reduce Vietnam\u2019s medical talent pool. The colonial government didn\u2019t want local medical students to excel and compete with French physicians who were practicing in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nProfessor T\u00f4n during a class<\/span><\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/i>Vietnamnet<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Enraged by this policy, Professor T\u00f4n protested it vehemently and initiated movements demanding equal opportunities to medical education for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1938, the colonial government decided to organize the first residency admission test open to all local students. Professor T\u00f4n sat for the exam and passed the exam with flying colors, making history as one of the first Vietnamese registrars.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Major discovery about the human liver<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nMedical students of Hanoi\u2019s Medical University in 1952<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Thanh Ni\u00ean<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

During his training, he made his first discovery about the human liver after seeing pinworms inside a patient\u2019s bile duct. He decided to collect livers infected with pinworms to study and analyse the structure of livers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From 1935 to 1939, he performed analyses on over 200 livers of dead bodies using only one raw knife and drew anatomy accordingly for references. Based on his in-depth understanding of the human liver, he successfully graduated from his post-graduate training and completed his medical dissertation titled Dissection of Hepatic Tissues<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: T\u1ea1p Ch\u00ed \u0110\u00f4ng Y<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With this thesis, he was awarded a silver medal from the General University of Paris.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His graduate work earned immense praise from his professors and senior medical clinicians, and formed a crucial foundation for his monumental medical advancements in liver anatomy, pathology, and surgery in his later years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The first surgeon in Vietnam to conduct a heart surgery<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: CAND<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

After the August Revolution of 1945, he became the private physician to President Ho Chi Minh. During this time, he wrote a medical book summarizing his research about pinworms, titled <\/span>Acute Pancreatitis and Surgery<\/span><\/em>. This was the first medical book published in northern Vietnam.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years later, he was appointed Head of Ph\u1ee7 Do\u00e3n Hospital, which is today <\/span>Vi\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ee9c Hospital<\/b>, alongside Professor H\u1ed3 \u0110\u1eafc Di. During the war, he and his associates went all out to treat wounded soldiers amid a severe shortage of medicines and equipment. Together with Professor \u0110\u1eb7ng V\u0103n Ng\u1eef, he concocted penicillin, which is a group of antibiotic drugs, to treat patients.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1958, he was the first surgeon in Vietnam to conduct heart surgery on a patient with a cleft mitral valve.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nProfessor T\u00f4n teaching his students during a surgery in 1976<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>B\u00e1o Tin T\u1ee9c<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Despite tremendous physical and mental challenges, Professor T\u00f4n never faltered. One of his students, <\/span>\u0110\u1eb7ng Hanh \u0110\u1ec7,<\/span> recalled a conversation between the brave professor and other students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the massive air attacks in Hanoi in 1972, residents evacuated to wherever they could to protect their lives. Considered an elite of a rudimentary nation, Professor T\u00f4n was also advised to leave the city for the sake of his safety, according to <\/span>Qu\u00ea H\u01b0\u01a1ng<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor T\u00f4n responded in an angry tone, \u201cAre you trying to make me a deserter? This is wartime, I know what I have to do. Get out of my room.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: T\u1ea1p Ch\u00ed \u0110\u00f4ng Y<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

To help develop Hanoi\u2019s Medical University at the same time, he organized regular training for medical students and conducted medical research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite his intense workload at the hospital and the university, he persisted with his research work on the human liver.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Groundbreaking innovation in liver anatomy and surgery<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: Vietnamnet<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In 1960, Professor T\u00f4n came up with a new idea to conduct liver surgery called \u201cMeticulous dissection of liver\u201d or \u201cC\u1eaft gan c\u00f3 k\u1ebf ho\u1ea1ch\u201d. His surgical approach allows surgeons to dissect a liver within four to eight minutes, as opposed to three to six hours based on traditional liver surgical methods at the time. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>Besides, liver surgery is an operation that can cause a loss of blood. Professor T\u00f4n\u2019s method helped to minimize blood loss by tightening the hepatic veins before dissecting the liver.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nProfessor T\u00f4n teaching a French surgeon how to dissect a liver at Vi\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ee9c Hospital in 1974<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Thanh Ni\u00ean<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>After his finding, Professor T\u00f4n\u2019s research on liver anatomy and surgery was published in <\/span>The Lancet<\/span><\/em>, a renowned medical journal based in London. The article immediately caused a sensation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within one month after his research was published, over 100 surgeons from Australia and the US mailed letters to Hanoi asking for more advice from Professor T\u00f4n.<\/p>\n

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\nProfessor T\u00f4n speaking at a science convention in the US in 1979<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Hanoi Medical University<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This is a fact for those who still question the effectiveness of this method: within 2 years after his finding, 93 liver operations were conducted in Vi\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ee9c Hospital in conformity with Professor T\u00f4n\u2019s dissection method and the mortality rate was 18%, according to <\/span>B\u00e1o Qu\u1ed1c T\u1ebf<\/span><\/a>. In the late 1960s, T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t T\u00f9ng\u2019s method of liver surgery started to be applied by several surgeons in Italy, Denmark, and Germany.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: B\u00e1o Qu\u1ed1c T\u1ebf<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This was a groundbreaking theory and he was the first surgeon in the world to come up with such a way to dissect a liver, according to French surgeon Jean-Michel Krivine, reported by <\/span>National Hospital For Tropical Diseases<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He passed away on 7th May in 1982 in Hanoi at the age of 70.<\/span><\/p>\n

His son,<\/span> Professor T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t B\u00e1ch <\/b>(1946-2004), also pursued medical studies and became one of the country\u2019s most illustrious surgeons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Professor T\u00f4n Th\u1ea5t T\u00f9ng changed the face of Vietnamese medicine<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Through hard work, devotion, and passion for knowledge, Professor T\u00f4n rose above the seemingly insurmountable barriers of his time to pursue his dream in the medical field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only does he set a great example of unmatched dedication and ethics in the surgical profession, but he also reminds us of the importance of patriotism and a need to stand up for what we believe in.<\/span><\/p>\n

We hope that our next generation of physicians can draw inspiration from the man who changed the complexion of Vietnam\u2019s medical field and follow his example.<\/span><\/p>\n

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