The number of children with congenital heart diseases is quite large with 10,000 kids every year and they have to wait for surgeries, said The Children Hospital No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City at a seminar two days ago.
The report was released at its meeting to review a program on heart surgeries for children for 10 past years. According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, hospital’s director, said that the program was launched in 2005 and the hospital surgeons have performed over 3,000 cases including 645 kids with serious congenital heart diseases and 125 neonates.
However, it still does not meet the increasing demand; hence, over 1,300 kids are waiting for operations.
Head of the hospital’s Heart Division Dr. Vu Minh Phuc said that the rate of children with congenital heart diseases in Vietnam was recorded 1/100; accordingly, if 1 million were born in a year, 10,000 of them suffer the disease.
Very few medical facilities can conduct heart surgeries for children. There are 8 hospitals in the South but only Children Hospital No.1 and No.2 can perform heart operations for newborn babies.
