In April 2024, Major Nguyen Xuan Tung, a neurosurgist at 108 Central Military Hospital, was assigned to the Song Tu Tay Island infirmary (Truong Sa District, Khanh Hoa Province). Temporarily leaving the specialized and modern environment in the Central route, he took on the responsibility of taking care of the health of the army, people and fishermen on duty as well as fishing in the sacred sovereign waters of the Fatherland.
Just one day after setting foot on the island, he performed an acute appendicitis surgery on a 43-year-old fisherman in a state of high fever and severe pain. The equipment is not yet familiar, the working environment is new, but with the coordination of the medical team and remote connection to the upper level via the telemedicine system, the surgery lasted 2 hours and was successful. The patient was alert right after surgery, 3 days after eating normally.
"That is a memory I will never forget, both a professional challenge and a special milestone in my journey of dedication between seas and islands" - Major Tung shared. Major Tung said that once, the patient's emergency care was performed right on the deck of a ship in the middle of the parallel sea, more than 90 nautical miles from the island. It was a respiratory failure due to a malicious breath, forcing the crew to coordinate urgently. Fishing boats carrying patients entered and left, military medical boats from the island. After nearly 4 hours, the 2 ships were able to approach. At this time, the patient was purple, in a coma, and having seizures.
"We took a breathing tube, injected medicine, and squeezed the balloon for 20 minutes to save her life. The patient was then transferred to the infirmary for further treatment. After 12 days, the patient fully recovered," said Major Tung.
Sharing about the difficulties when assigned to the island, Major Tung said: "On the mainland, I specialize in one field and always have a support team when meeting overseas workers. But when I arrived on the island, I became the one in charge of everything from regular medical examination and treatment to emergency treatment. At first, there were many surprises, but when I lived, lived, and lived on the island, I felt more clearly my responsibility. The meaning of the work I am doing is the motivation for me to strive to complete the task well".
A similar story also occurred at Sinh Ton Island infirmary, where captain and doctor Le Dang Tuan had to face a "hair hanging scale" surgery on the first day of the Lunar New Year 2025.
While preparing for the first meal of the year, he received news that a fisherman had a severe abdominal pain, suspected of a stuffy herniated hernia. When receiving the patient, the tumor was large. If not operated on promptly, he would be necrosed, leading to poisoning and death.
In the context of limited human resources and inability to connect remotely due to the telemedicine system broken due to sea salt, waiting for a rescue helicopter takes 6 hours while the patient's resistance time is only about 3 hours, Dr. Tuan was forced to make an urgent surgical decision. "The surgery lasted 3 hours, and the entire herniated block was brought safely to the abdomen. 9 days later, the patient recovered and proactively asked to leave the island to continue the journey to the sea" - Dr. Tuan said.
Last April, in Truong Sa town, captain and doctor Nguyen Xuan Cuong and his team successfully operated on Mr. Vinh Van Non (53 years old, Binh Dinh province) whose hand was crushed after being caught in a stone crusher on a fishing boat. The surgery lasted 5 hours, more than 100 stitches were performed to restore blood vessels, tendons, nerves and reshaped the hand. 2 days after surgery, Mr. Non was able to move his fingers gently. "When I had an accident, I thought I was dead or lost my arm. But luckily, the doctors not only saved me but also gave me a new chance to live" - Mr. Non said emotionally.
Captain, Doctor Nguyen Xuan Cuong - Head of Truong Sa town infirmary - said that in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the infirmary received more than 1,000 emergency cases, including over 400 fishermen. Many cases of stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, and critical traumatic brain injury have been promptly treated on the island, without the need for a helicopter to be mobilized from the mainland.
