Henry Mayo Team Travels to Vietnam on Medical Mission

Led by Sum Tran, MD, a team from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital traveled to Hue, Vietnam on a medical mission earlier this year.  C. Philip Amoils, MD, Sheila Tesiny, RN, Clinical Coordinator, Outpatient Surgery, and Ayda Rezaimalek, Program Manager, Wound Care, spent seven days in Vietnam where they provided free reconstructive surgeries and continuing education to healthcare professionals.  The team also included doctors from Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Mount Sinai of New York and Nottingham Hospital of United Kingdom.
Dr. Tran, a plastic surgeon with Henry Mayo since 1984, started surgical missions and other services to Hue, his hometown, in 2007.
As part of the curriculum, Tesiny discussed risk management in the operating room and Rezaimalek taught wound care protocols and basic techniques to local physicians, medical students and nurses at Hue University Hospital and Central Hospital.  Patient cases at Hue Central Hospital, a 1,600-bed facility, varied from oil burns to post-surgery.
Supplies and technology at the hospitals are limited, and for the most part, Rezaimalek said, patients coming in use home remedies for wound care.  Dr. Tran said he is looking forward to working with Rezaimalek in bringing a wound care program modeled after Henry Mayo’s program to Hue’s hospitals.
“I would like to start a service in Vietnam like the one we have here at Henry Mayo, and I hope Ayda can come back to advise,” he said.
The trip was especially meaningful for Rezaimalek because she is half Vietnamese.  She found the people to be friendly and accommodating.
“This was an incredible experience for me,” she said. “Meeting so many different people and being part of this mission was a great honor.”
The ENT mission that accompanied Dr. Tran and his plastic surgery team included Dr. Philip Amoils, FACS from Santa Clarita ENT, who has been practicing at Henry Mayo since 1997 along with Dr. David Parker FRCS, Professor of Otolaryngology from the Royal Derbyshire Infirmary and Nottingham Hospital, UK.
They performed many microscopic ear surgeries to remove infection and restore hearing (tympano-mastoidectomies).  Dr. Amoils was instrumental in introducing the latest technology for sinus surgery: Endoscopic Balloon Sinuplasty to the department of ENT, Hue.  The conclusion involved an international conference at Hue University Hospital regarding current trends in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery to a full auditorium of ENT surgeons.
Highlights for Dr. Amoils and Dr. Parker were trips to the TranTien Foundation Home, Clinic and Preschool, performing many surgeries each day and then having the most wonderful meals with their hosts.
Dr. Tran established the TranTien Foundation in 2005 with his nephew, Dr. Paul Tran, as partner in practice of plastic surgery, to carry out their family’s tradition of providing free medical care and supportive social services to the underprivileged and underserved in Hue.
“Having Dr. Tran give back so much to his people, and for us to be welcomed like celebrities in his city of birth, warmed our hearts,” Dr. Amolis said.  “It also made us realize how important this annual mission to Vietnam is to exchange information and knowledge as well as build lasting friendships.
“One of my wishes is to return and expand on the interaction between Henry Mayo doctors and Hue Hospital that will involve many other specialties.”
In addition to ear and sinus surgeries, Henry Mayo’s volunteer mission this year provided 48 free plastic and life-changing reconstructive surgeries, mostly for cleft palate reconstruction, cleft lip repair, burns, club feet and hands, birth defects and motorcycle accidents with most complicated disabilities.  Since 2007 the Tran Tien Foundation has performed reconstructive surgeries for more than 500 patients and provided treatment free of charge for more than 45,000 impoverished patients.
Many physicians and nurses from Henry Mayo have joined past missions including: Dr .Chand Khanna; Drs. Satish and Sunanda Vadapali; Dr. James Lee; Dr. Paul Tran; Dr. Yen Nguyen; Dr. Ben Li; Rose Marinas, RN; Sheri Chessani, RN; Rosanne Valentino, RN; and Elizabeth Cravitz, RN.  Henry Mayo donates medical and surgical supplies for each yearly mission.
“After doing these missions for 10 years, the technological advances in life-changing reconstructive surgeries to the impoverished people made here in Vietnam are very noticeable,” Dr. Tran said.  “I expect that we’ll be doing more symposiums to update medical knowledge and trends in the future.”
For more information or to learn about upcoming missions, visit www.Trantienfoundation.org.

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