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Can Tho: Implementing Cardiac Catheterization to Treat Congenital Heart Disease in Children
Recently, Can Tho Children’s Hospital successfully performed interventional cardiac catheterization procedures to treat congenital heart diseases in five pediatric patients. This is uplifting news for children in the Mekong Delta region who are suffering from heart conditions.
Doctors closely monitor young patients after cardiac catheterization (Photo: Can Tho Newspaper)
On March 2, 2023, doctors at Can Tho Children’s Hospital carried out cardiac catheterization on five children with various congenital heart defects, including patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, and pulmonary artery stenosis. Physicians from Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City traveled to Can Tho to provide professional support. Each procedure lasted approximately one hour.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, from An Lac Thon Commune, Ke Sach District, Soc Trang Province, caregiver of 13-month-old patient Truong Vo Nguyen An, shared:
“When the baby’s mother was seven months pregnant, she contracted COVID-19. Doctors had to perform a C-section, but she passed away just a week later. The baby was premature and very weak, requiring special care. At four months old, the baby had a fever and cough — doctors diagnosed a congenital heart defect. Surgery in Ho Chi Minh City would have been too expensive, so when we heard that Can Tho Children’s Hospital could perform the procedure, and that financial support was available for difficult cases, we felt relieved and grateful.”
Another parent, Ms. Dao Thi Huyen from Thoi Hung Commune, Co Do District, Can Tho City, mother of 25-month-old patient Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, said:
“My child has a congenital heart condition. We couldn’t take her to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment because of the distance and high costs. We have two other small children at home and no one to care for them. When we learned that Can Tho Children’s Hospital could treat congenital heart diseases, our family was overjoyed. Throughout my daughter’s treatment, the doctors here have been very attentive and caring. We truly trust them.”
According to Can Tho Children’s Hospital, free heart disease screenings for children are organized every Saturday morning. Each year, about 300 children are diagnosed with congenital heart disease.
Dr. Ong Huy Thanh, Deputy Director of Can Tho Children’s Hospital, explained:
“Previously, children who required cardiac catheterization had to be transferred to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. However, those hospitals are often overloaded, resulting in long waiting times and high travel and living costs for families. Recognizing this issue, in 2013, the Ministry of Health selected Can Tho Children’s Hospital as a satellite hospital of Children’s Hospital 1, focusing on transferring key medical techniques.”
He added:
“Our medical teams — doctors and nurses — were trained at Children’s Hospital 1. Currently, we have two cardiac catheterization teams, each consisting of one doctor and two nurses. In 2020, we successfully performed the first two interventional procedures. The program was later interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each cardiac catheterization procedure costs approximately 50–70 million VND, with health insurance covering 50–70% of the cost.”
Dr. Thanh also noted that for children from disadvantaged families, the hospital seeks support from charitable donors to help cover treatment expenses.
According to the hospital’s leadership, although the technical transfer program with Children’s Hospital 1 has officially concluded, specialists from Ho Chi Minh City continue to provide professional assistance for complex congenital heart cases. Can Tho Children’s Hospital aims to further enhance its interventional cardiac catheterization capabilities and prepare for pediatric cardiac surgery in the near future — bringing life-saving treatments closer to children in the Mekong Delta.