Having had to remove a left lung lobe to treat cancer, Mr. NVD (64 years old) was deeply concerned about his health and frequently traveled to Singapore for check-ups. Recently, when an issue was detected in his right lung, he planned to go to Singapore for treatment. Surprisingly, Mr. D. was able to undergo a lymph node dissection surgery by a leading Singaporean doctor… right in Vietnam. And, of course, the costs were significantly reduced.

Unexpectedly finding a top lung cancer surgeon from Singapore right in his hometown

While searching for information about renowned lung cancer surgeons in Singapore, Mr. D. came across the name of Dr Su Jang Wen – a leading expert in cardiovascular, thoracic surgery, and lung cancer, who has performed over 7,000 surgeries, mainly using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) – a minimally invasive technique with small incisions ranging from 1.5-3 cm and a high success rate.

Mr. D. was surprised to learn that this famous doctor could work at the FV Thoracic Surgery Centre through a collaboration between FV Hospital and O2 Healthcare Group (Singapore). He immediately contacted FV to consult with the top Singaporean specialist.

After examining Mr. D., Dr Su noticed a small nodule under 5mm on the patient’s right lung. The Singaporean doctor recommended performing a biopsy surgery.

Through a multidisciplinary consultation, Dr Su and the FV doctors assessed that this was a high-risk surgery because the patient had several underlying conditions and had already had a left lung lobe removed. During anesthesia, the patient’s right lung would need to be fully deflated for the surgery, and the remaining left lung lobe was only functioning at about 20% compared to a healthy lung. Therefore, the surgery had to be performed quickly and accurately.

The surgery was led by Dr Su Jang Wen, with support from Luong Ngoc Trung, MD, MSc, Head of the FV Thoracic Surgery Centre, and proceeded urgently. Dr Su quickly removed the entire white nodule suspected to be a tumor. The immediate frozen biopsy results confirmed malignancy. Dr Su performed a lymph node dissection, ensuring all cancerous cells were removed during the surgery, thus avoiding the need for a second surgery to remove additional lymph nodes.

After the surgery, Mr D. recovered well and was very pleased with the thorough consultation and treatment by the top lung cancer expert from Singapore, all within the context of international medical services right in his home country. Another joyful aspect for both him and his family was that the treatment cost was only one-third of the cost of surgery in Singapore.

It is known that while FV Hospital is an international hospital, its treatment costs are only 50% of those at other international hospitals in Southeast Asia. Additionally, FV subsidies 20% for patients without private health insurance, and Mr D. was eligible for this subsidy programme.

Patients benefit from FV’s international collaboration programmes.

It is a reality that many patients in the country have been traveling to Singapore – a country with a high standard of healthcare – for diagnosis and treatment. This means they must bear significant costs for treatment, accommodation, and travel in a country with an extremely high cost of living. The expenses weigh even more heavily on patients dealing with chronic illnesses, especially life-threatening diseases, not to mention the inconveniences of daily life, language barriers, the need for a caregiver, and the lack of family support.

As an international hospital, FV Hospital has continuously enhanced its international medical activities over the past 21 years by collaborating with top experts to treat Vietnamese patients at reasonable costs. Many renowned names in the medical field come to FV annually to treat patients, including: Professor Donald Tan – the world’s leading corneal transplant specialist from Singapore, Dr Stephane Guero – a French hand surgery expert known as the “magician” for reconstructing complex congenital hand deformities, and Professor McKay McKinnon – a world-famous American neurosurgeon who frequently works at FV to treat rare neurological conditions, especially giant tumor cases.

Since 2024, as a member of the Thomson Medical Group from Singapore, FV Hospital has gained more opportunities to expand collaborations and bring in Singaporean surgical experts in various fields to treat patients right here in Vietnam.

“This international cooperation brings many benefits to patients. Instead of traveling all the way to Singapore, they now have top Singaporean doctors come to Vietnam to treat them, at a significantly lower cost than in Singapore. Being treated at home, with the comfort of their native language, familiar culture, and food, helps patients feel more at ease and communicate about their condition more easily,” explained Dr. Vu Truong Son, acting Chief Medical Officer of FV Hospital.

Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon, CEO of FV Hospital, emphasized that FV offers prices only half of those at other international hospitals in the region. This is possible due to two main factors: lower operational costs in Vietnam and the management’s goal of maintaining a reasonable profit margin.

In addition, starting from January 2025, FV Hospital will implement an installment payment programme for hospital fees and medical services for all patients. This policy allows patients greater flexibility in paying for medical costs, reducing financial burdens of treatment.