From the emergency case of a foreign tourist
During a trip to Hoi An in early June 2026, a 55-year-old Australian female tourist suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain and continuous vomiting. Examination results showed that the patient had acute bowel syndrome with constriction complications, risk of bowel necrosis, threatening life if not intervened in time.
What makes the case special is that the patient had undergone 4 previous abdominal surgeries. In the 5th surgery in Vietnam, doctors discovered a small intestine segment more than 20cm long crawling in the opposite direction, protruding into the Y-shaped mouth joint from a previous weight loss surgery. This is a very rare complication, never recorded in Vietnamese medical literature.
After many hours of intervention, the surgical team successfully removed the cage, preserving the entire segment of the intestine. The female tourist recovered well and was discharged from the hospital in stable condition.
This story is not just a successful emergency case. It shows a very practical need of international visitors when coming to Da Nang and surrounding areas: they need a medical system capable of handling emergencies, post-treatment care and creating a sense of security throughout their stay.
Another case is Travis Carrasquillo, 38 years old, from Hawaii, USA. After a sports accident causing a cheekbone fracture and many cracks on her face, Travis chose to be treated at Vinh Duc General Hospital instead of going to expensive international hospitals or returning to the US.
The total cost from emergency, CT scan, orthopedic surgery to 3 days post-hospital surgery is only more than 28 million VND, about 1,100 USD. Travis Carrasquillo compared, if in the US without insurance, similar costs could make him "in debt for at least 10 years"; while at international hospitals, the price can be from 5,000 - 6,000 USD.
Increase the value of each visitor instead of just increasing the number
A tourist coming to Da Nang for a general health check-up, dental treatment, rehabilitation, post-surgery care or post-treatment recovery usually does not stay for short days like ordinary tourists. They need suitable hotels, nutrition, transportation, language support, re-examination schedule, personal care services and gentle resort experiences.
In the context of increasingly fierce competition among destinations, Da Nang cannot only rely on the sea, hotels and traditional resort services. The city needs products with higher added value, enough to extend stay time and improve the quality of visitor sources. Medical tourism is one of such directions.
Mr. Van Ba Son - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism - acknowledged that Da Nang has many advantages: central-level hospital system, specialized hospitals, high-level medical staff, along with quite synchronous accommodation, transportation, and service infrastructure. The goal is to attract international visitors who need treatment, rehabilitation, and high-quality health care; and at the same time retain long-term overnight visitors with large spending levels.
From a medical facility perspective, Mr. Tran Cong An - Director of Vinh Duc General Hospital - said that the hospital does not develop services according to trends, but chooses products based on core professional competence such as general emergency, orthopedic trauma, obstetrics - infertility, skin care and cosmetic surgery according to medical standards. The formation of an International Treatment Unit is also a way to standardize procedures, improve service quality and build personnel to adapt to a multicultural medical environment.
Da Nang has set a target to deploy at least 5 medical tourism service packages combining medical examination, treatment, health care and resort tourism by the end of 2026; increasing to 10 packages from the second quarter of 2028 and at least 15 packages from the second quarter of 2030. From 2026, the rate of international visitors using medical services in the city is expected to increase by at least 5% per year.
