The Global Pediatric Specialists Alliance recently completed a highly successful one-week educational and one-week surgical mission to Vietnam, further strengthening our longstanding partnerships with pediatric healthcare professionals throughout the country.
Our mission began in Ho Chi Minh City, where members of our multidisciplinary team served as faculty for the Pediatric Acute Surgical Support (PASS) Course. The course focused on improving the care of critically ill and injured children through a combination of didactic lectures, interactive discussions, and hands-on simulation training. This is an ongoing collaboration we have with IPSAC Vietnam.
Educational sessions emphasized pediatric trauma management and neonatal surgical emergencies, allowing participants to practice critical decision-making and technical skills in realistic simulation scenarios. The enthusiasm and engagement of the local physicians, surgeons, trainees, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals created an outstanding learning environment and fostered meaningful professional exchange.
Following the educational program, our team traveled to Da Nang, where we partnered with the pediatric surgeons at Da Nang Women and Children’s Hospital to advance the care of children with chest wall deformities. The primary focus of this portion of the mission was the evaluation and surgical treatment of patients with pectus excavatum.
Working side-by-side with our Vietnamese colleagues, we evaluated numerous patients and performed several minimally invasive pectus excavatum repairs using the Nuss technique. The operating room experience provided an excellent opportunity for collaborative surgical education, technical exchange, and discussion of patient selection, perioperative management, pain control strategies, and long-term follow-up. Our goal was not only to provide surgical care for patients but also to support the continued development of local expertise, ensuring that these procedures can be performed safely and effectively within the region.
The Global Pediatric Specialists Alliance is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our colleagues in Vietnam and sincerely thanks everyone who contributed to the success of this mission. We look forward to returning in the future to continue our educational partnership, expand collaborative surgical training, and further improve access to specialized pediatric surgical care for children throughout Vietnam.
