The hospital’s “researcher”
Hailing from Dien Ban Bac ward, Da Nang city, Dr. Pham Tran Xuan Anh (58), Deputy Director of Da Nang Hospital, vividly remembers his childhood days following his mother, Ms. Tran Thi Tan, to the hospital where she worked as a nurse.
In the innocent eyes of the boy back then, the image of his mother in a white blouse, patiently by the patient’s bedside, caring for them as if they were family, sowed in his heart a love for medicine – a love that would later become the guiding principle for the male doctor’s entire life.
Having worked in the medical field for over 30 years, Dr. Xuan Anh has spent countless sleepless nights in the operating room, witnessing immense pain and tears from patients.
From then on, he understood better than anyone that behind each case lay not only a professional challenge but also a battle against circumstances and treatment costs, especially for poor patients living far from the hospital.
“Whenever I saw their worry about hospital fees, I would ask myself, ‘Is there a way to optimize treatment, to help patients reduce costs?'” he confided.
Driven by these concerns, over many years, Dr. Xuan Anh and his colleagues have quietly explored and researched dozens of scientific projects and technical innovations, hoping to collectively ease the burden on patients.
Many of his works have been immediately applied in treatment, bringing clear effectiveness. Not only professionally competent, but from 2003 until now, he and his colleagues have completed 18 research projects accepted at the grassroots level and reported at numerous national and international conferences.
This passion has earned him many well-deserved awards, such as the Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Awards in 2019 and 2022, a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister, a Certificate of Advanced Typical Example for the 2020-2025 period, an Outstanding Intellectual of the Vietnam General Medical Association, and a Third-class Labor Order.
Most recently, he received a Certificate of Advanced Typical Example in the patriotic emulation movement for the 2020-2025 period, awarded by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.
Efforts to help patients shorten treatment time and costs
One of the projects he is most proud of is the research on reconstructing forearms and hands using skin from the lower abdomen and pelvic bone. This initiative won first prize in Da Nang’s science and technology innovation competition, second prize nationally, and was included in Vietnam’s Golden Book of Innovations.
According to Dr. Xuan Anh, upper limb injuries are common types of damage resulting from traffic accidents, labor accidents, or daily activities. These injuries are often very complex, making patients easily face the risk of amputation.
At central hospitals, such cases can be treated with microsurgery techniques, but for provincial and district hospitals, applying this technique faces countless difficulties, such as a lack of specialized personnel, expensive equipment, and complex medical equipment import procedures.
“Therefore, most patients at the grassroots level are only treated with methods such as debridement, skin grafting, or even amputation, which prolongs treatment, incurs high costs, and causes psychological trauma,” Dr. Xuan Anh explained.
In response to this situation, Dr. Xuan Anh researched an alternative to complex microsurgery using a pedicled skin flap from the lower abdomen, nourished by a stable arterial system with constant vascular branches, ensuring a stable blood supply.
This solution not only helps preserve limbs but also shortens treatment time, reduces complications, and lowers costs for patients. More importantly, the technique can be implemented in provincial hospitals.
Not only is he highly skilled professionally, but Dr. Xuan Anh is also an inspirational mentor to the younger generation in the profession. He always reminds his colleagues and students: “When we still know how to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ before every problem, it means we still retain the flame of passion for the profession and compassion for patients.”
