On April 26, Thong Nhat Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) announced that it had successfully saved two male patients. Technology car driver and female students suffered critical traffic accident.
The first case is patient DCH (male, 36 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) who works as a technology vehicle driver and had a serious traffic accident.
MSc Hoang Tuan, Deputy Department of Surgery Anesthesia and Resuscitation (Thong Nhat Hospital), said the patient was admitted to the hospital late on March 23 with a very rapid pulse, low blood pressure, multiple injuries, and hemorrhagic shock.
The patient was in a coma and had to be intubated with a balloon and had mechanical ventilation intervention right at the emergency department.
Doctors were on red alert, consulted with many specialties, and determined that the patient had a ruptured liver, ruptured spleen, and collapsed lung.
The team performed liver preservation treatment and embolic intervention to stop spleen bleeding. Particularly, the lungs were severely crushed, with pulmonary hemorrhage and severely damaged alveoli. Even though the patient was ventilated, the patient’s life was threatened…
The doctor decided to use ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) to replace the patient’s coughing lungs
The doctor examined a patient who was a technology vehicle driver and had a critical traffic accident. Photo: LP
According to Dr. Tuan, this patient does not have health insurance and is in a difficult situation. If ECMO intervention is very expensive, the cost can be up to billions of dong.
The treatment team asked the hospital leadership for advice, and was told “the patient is still young, try to save his life at all costs, the costs will be calculated later.”
Doctor II Ngo The Hoang, Head of the Respiratory Department, said that the treatment process and the patient’s health condition were progressing well.
The patient was weaned off ECMO after 7 days and continued on the ventilator for nearly another week. Doctors combine supportive treatment, anti-inflammatory antibiotics, respiratory physical therapy, and treatment of broken ribs and collarbones.
Currently, the patient is recovering well, his pulse and blood pressure are stable, his chest X-ray results have improved, and he was discharged from the hospital.
The patient’s total treatment cost is about 1.5 billion VND, one of the highest hospital fees. The hospital has mobilized philanthropists to help this case.
MSc Hoang Tuan, Deputy Department of Surgery Anesthesia and Resuscitation (Thong Nhat Hospital), shared about the case. Photo: C.D
The patient’s wife said the couple both work as technology vehicle drivers. Mr. H runs from morning to night, while she only works a few hours a day because she has to take care of her 7-year-old and 1.5-year-old children.
When her husband was run over by a taxi and a passerby called 115 to take him to the emergency room, she borrowed 38 million VND to pay the hospital fee, and could not afford to pay more.
The second case is a female PTMA student (18 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) who suffered a traffic accident with lung injury, liver and spleen rupture, and non-displaced pelvic fracture.
It is known that A’s friend took him to school by electric motorbike. When he encountered a motorbike in the alley, his friend braked suddenly, causing A to be thrown into a crane moving in the opposite direction and run over. The patient was taken to the emergency room at Thong Nhat Hospital.
Dr. Nguyen Duy Tan, Deputy Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (Thong Nhat Hospital), said that immediately, the hospital went on red alert, mobilizing human resources to save the patient.
The patient was hospitalized in a state of severe shock, low blood pressure, drowsiness, blood loss, respiratory failure, lung contusion, liver and spleen rupture, and non-displaced pelvic fracture. The patient was intubated and mechanically ventilated.
In addition, the patient also had a large area of skin abrasions, extending from the chest, hips, thighs to the left leg. The patient was treated to preserve the liver, spleen, drain lung fluid, and suction blood for subcutaneous hemorrhage.
According to Dr. Tan, the patient lost a total of more than 4 liters of blood and received timely fluid replacement.
After a month of treatment, the patient has now recovered, been discharged from the hospital and has a follow-up appointment.
According to doctors at Thong Nhat Hospital, the number of traffic accidents in recent months has decreased significantly. This is thanks to the thorough work of checking and handling alcohol levels.
Previously, according to statistics, on average, Thong Nhat Hospital could receive about 5 traffic accident cases per night and most of them had traumatic brain injuries and limb injuries that required emergency surgery. But currently the hospital only receives 2-5 cases per week, mainly traffic accidents caused by going to work or school…
Doctors warn that during the holidays of April 30 and May 1, vehicle traffic on the road may increase. Therefore, people need to pay attention when participating in traffic.
If a strong collision occurs, the patient needs to be taken to the hospital quickly for timely treatment, helping to increase the chance of survival.
