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On 10th and 11th September 2015, Prof. McKay McKinnon collaborated with surgeons at FV Hospital to perform a surgery to remove a neurofibromas (a tumour formed on a nerve cell) which had developed on the leg of 20-year-old Tran Thi My Son, and offer facial reconstruction surgeries to three other patients, including Nguyen Hoang Thien An, aged 18, Kieu Thi My Dung, aged 22, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thi, aged 26 years of age.
The surgical team comprised key surgeon Dr. McKay McKinnon, assisted by FV’s Head of Otolaryngology – Dr. Nguyen Quang Dai, Head of General Surgery – Dr. Vincent Blondeau, Head of Anaesthesia, Intensive & Pain Control – Dr. Henri Maries and the anaesthetist team of FV Hospital.
On the afternoon of 11th September 2015, FV Hospital arranged the filming and live broadcast of the progress of Tran Thi My Son’s surgery on screens at the Auditorium on the third floor, F-building, so that doctors from FV Hospital and other hospitals could watch and learn from the experience.
All four surgeries were financed by FV Hospital, VinaCapital, and other sponsors.
MEDICAL INFORMATION AND HISTORIES
1. Patient Tran Thi My Son (20 years of age)
Patient My Son resides at Huong Thuy Town, Thua Thien Hue Province. Her legs were unusual from birth. As they grew bigger over time, her feet and toes became deformed, making her unable to walk.
My Son’s mother, Ms. Pham Thi Dua, aged 60, carried her only daughter on her back to many hospitals to seek treatment but they were always refused. When My Son was 10, she quit school as she felt insecure around her friends and suffered from constant pain. As her mother became older and could no longer carry My Son on her back, My Son had to move by dragging her legs along behind her body.
My Son’s greatest dream was to get her condition treated so that she could help her elderly parents.
On 10th September 2015, Prof. McKinnon and Dr. Vincent Blondeau gave My Son a medical examination. After the consultation, they decided to start the surgery by finding out which nerve from which the tumour had originally grown to prevent it from further development and, concurrently, removed the growing tumours on My Son’s legs.
My Son’s surgery was scheduled for 11th September 2015.
2. Patient Nguyen Hoang Thien An (19 years of age)
The tumour was first seen on the right side of Thien An’s face when he was seven months old. The tumour grew fast and gradually deflected her nose, eye and lips from their original position and deformed the right side of her face. Because Thien An’s family could not afford the treatment, her tumour continued to grow.
On 30th July 2013, Prof. McKinnon partnered with Dr. Nguyen Quang Dai and FVH’s surgeon team to conduct a surgery to remove the entire tumour and perform a preliminary facial reconstruction.
On 24th September 2014, Prof. McKay McKinnon and Dr. Nguyen Quang Dai performed another surgery to reconstruct the part of the face and nose that had been deformed by the growing tumour over time.
After the surgery, Thien An says she has enjoyed a better life and no longer has to hide herself at home to avoid meeting other people. She was accepted to Nguyen Tat Thanh University in HCMC to study Pharmacology and now she can fulfil her dream to help other people.
During the surgery conducted on the afternoon of 10th September 2015, Prof. McKinnon and FVH’s surgeon team continued to reconstruct her face to improve her facial appearance. This surgery was Thien An’s final operation.
3. Patient Kieu Thi My Dung, (22 years of age)
Kieu Thi My Dung, a patient living in Xuan Tho Commune, Da Lat, was born weighing just 1.5 kg and had small, uneven eyes. By three months of age, her face became distorted by a small tumour near her eyelids. The tumour grew and made her face appeared increasingly asymmetrical but her family could not afford the surgery to remove it.
On 6th January 2012, Prof. McKinnon conducted a surgery to remove the tumour and reconstruct My Dung’s face. The seven-hour surgery was performed with high precision to preserve the function of My Dung’s eyes, nose, mouth, ears and facial nerves as far as possible.
The tumour, once removed, weighed approximately 2 kg. In 2013 and 2014, Dr. McKinnon performed another reconstructive surgery on My Dung’s face.
After surgery, My Dung facial appearance was much improved, and her right eye, which was previously hidden by the tumour, was also retained.
During the surgery performed on the afternoon of 10th September 2014, Dr. McKinnon and FV’s surgeon team continued the reconstruction of My Dung’s face.
4. Patient Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thi (26 years of age)
Ngoc Thi resides in Binh Thuan Province. She developed a blood tumour in her mouth and tongue at a very young age. Initially, the tumour was only around the size of a bean on her tongue. Along time, it gradually protruded outside and damaged her entire lower lip. It often bleeds and causes pain. Ngoc Thi’s family took her to many hospitals but were always refused help as hers was a very difficult case. Her tumour has spread to the oesophagus and could easily cause massive bleeding, threatening her life, if the surgery was not handled well. On 26th September 2014, Prof. McKinnon, Dr. Nguyen Quang Dai and the FVH’s surgeon team performed a surgery to remove the tumour, partly cutting away the part of her tongue damaged by the tumour and, concurrently, reconstructed her lips and face.
After this surgery, Ngoc Thi’s facial appearance was much improved. Her tongue was placed in the correct position so that she could eat normally again.
During the surgery on the morning of 11th September 2015, Prof. McKinnon and the surgeon team once again performed a reconstructive surgery for patient Ngoc Thi.
MORE INFORMATION ON DR. MCKAY MCKINNON
In the year 2012, Dr. McKay McKinnon was highly recognised by both local people and the mass media when he collaborated with FV Hospital to successfully conduct a surgery to remove a 90 kg tumour from the leg of patient Nguyen Duy Hai, who was born in 1980 in Da Lat City, Lam Dong.
Currently, Dr. McKinnon is a professor working at Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago, Illinois State and Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago Medical University. He has travelled all over the world to work with charity and humanity organisations to offer free treatments to patients with rare conditions, especially those with large tumours.
Dr. McKinnon’s surgeries have not only made a great contributions to the world’s health industry but also brought hope to impoverished patients in many countries.
