Doctors from the UK charity Facing The World (FTW) conduct screenings for pediatric patients at Viet Duc University Hospital during their 2018 mission. (Photo courtesy of FTW)
Hundreds of international and Vietnamese specialists in head and neck surgery are expected to gather at a conference in Hanoi later this month to share experience and knowledge in the expertise.
To be held at 108 Military Central Hospital and Hong Ngoc General Hospital on October 18-19 respectively, the conference “Facing the functional, oncological and aesthetic challenges within the head and neck” will be attended by British and Vietnamese doctors specialising in ENT (ear, nose and throat) and head-neck surgery, plastic and aesthetic surgery, oncology and maxillofacial surgery.
During the events, senior consultants and surgeons from leading hospitals in the UK will join Vietnamese colleagues across the country to discuss various subjects from head and neck oncology and cancer to facial plastic surgery and professional challenges.
There will be updates on the latest evidence and techniques from complex head and neck surgery, sharing approaches and experience to improve care within the UK and highlight the best practices in Vietnam.
Highlights from the conference include talks on SinoNasal Malignancy, Transoral Thyroidectomy, Facial Nerve Surgery and Complex Rhinoplasty.
The conference is organised and facilitated by the UK charity Facing The World (FTW) in collaboration with the 108 Military Central Hospital, Hong Ngoc Hospital and Hanoi ENT Association.
FTW voluntary CEO Katrin Kandel said the conference is part of FTW programme in Vietnam this year, which also includes a 4-day charity surgery mission in Hanoi.
Katrin said by facilitating the conference, FTW is bringing together leaders in the field of ENT, Plastics, Reconstructive Surgery and Cancer Surgery from the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
She added the on-going commitment to education from FTW continues to provide Vietnam with a support to grow and provide the highest levels of medical and surgical care.
The conference will be followed by a charity surgery programme, an annual FTW mission in Vietnam, which offers consultations and surgeries for patients with congenital facial deformities and other complex conditions.
On this year’s mission, FTW experts will work directly with Vietnamese doctors at 108 Military Central Hospital, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital and Hong Ngoc General Hospital to provide free medical examinations, treatment planning, and reconstructive operations for dozens of disadvantaged patients suffering from ear, nose and throat as well as head and neck disorders, along with patients in need of reconstructive surgery following head and neck cancer treatment.
Katrin said the initiative aims not only to give children and adults with facial deformities the chance to improve their health, confidence, and quality of life, but also to train and mentor Vietnamese surgeons through hands-on collaboration in the operating room. This sustainable model ensures long-term impact, enhancing local capacity to treat such cases in the future.
FTW is a UK-registered medical charitable foundation set up in 2002 to treat children from developing countries with craniofacial defects, FTW started operations in Vietnam in 2007. To date, it has helped provide surgeries for thousands children with craniofacial defects across Vietnam and sent over 100 Vietnamese doctors to world class medical institutions in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia for training. The foundation has also donated in excess of 2.5 million pounds worth of telemedicine technology and surgical equipment to its partner hospitals in Vietnam.
In the next five years, FTW plans to enable a further 40,000 operations to be performed by its trained Vietnamese doctors. It expects to send at least another 200 Vietnamese doctors abroad for training and continue to donate medical equipment./.
