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Inside Vietnam's Largest Neurosurgery Department
Constantine L Karras1, Huy Minh Tran2, David Dornbos3
1The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Insights
The neurosurgery department at Cho Ray Hospital performs over 10,000 complex operations annually. Despite resource limitations, the department demonstrates impressive progress in neurosurgical care for the Vietnamese public.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Healthcare Management
- Global Health
Background:
- Cho Ray Hospital is a leading tertiary care center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
- The neurosurgical department, established in 1958, is one of the world's busiest.
- It handles over 10,000 neurosurgical operations annually, excluding neuroendovascular procedures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the current status of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Cho Ray Hospital.
- To outline the future direction of neurosurgical services at the institution.
- To highlight the challenges and achievements in a resource-limited setting.
Main Methods:
- Review of departmental statistics and operational scope.
- Description of common elective neurosurgical procedures performed.
- Analysis of the impact of resource constraints on surgical practice.
Main Results:
- The department performs a high volume of complex elective surgeries, including craniotomies for aneurysms, AVMs, and tumors.
- A "doing more with less" philosophy prevails due to cost minimization and resource scarcity.
- Despite challenges, neurosurgical care in Vietnam is continuously improving.
Conclusions:
- The Department of Neurological Surgery at Cho Ray Hospital is a high-volume center facing unique resource challenges.
- The department shows significant progress and a positive trajectory in improving neurosurgical care.
- Its operational model offers insights into managing complex neurosurgery in resource-constrained environments.
Abstract:
Cho Ray Hospital is the premier tertiary care center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's most populous city. The neurosurgical department was founded in 1958 and is currently one of the busiest in the world. Last year the department was responsible for more than 10,000 neurosurgical operations, excluding neuroendovascular cases. Most of the elective cases are craniotomies for complex lesions such as aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, skull base tumors, gliomas, and meningiomas. Although the neurosurgeons within the department are technically gifted, doing more with less predominates as the mantra at Cho Ray Hospital. The necessity to minimize costs and the scarcity of resources creates many unique circumstances, some of which lag decades behind the rest of the world. Nonetheless, the progress and trajectory of the department has been impressive as the neurosurgical care provided to the Vietnamese public continues to improve. This article describes the current state and future direction of The Department of Neurological Surgery at Cho Ray Hospital.
