In July 2025, Gia Lai General Hospital was awarded the platinum standard certificate for stroke treatment by the World Stroke Organization (WSO), one of the top three international benchmarks for stroke care, alongside gold and diamond.
▪ This must be a particularly significant milestone for you, the pioneer in developing neurovascular interventions for stroke treatment in the province?
- When the WSO awarded our hospital the Platinum Standard Certificate in stroke treatment, it was a recognition of the entire team’s efforts.
It affirms that our provincial hospital has achieved international standards with rapid, effective treatment protocols that have saved and restored the lives of many patients.
▪ What criteria was this recognition based on?
- The evaluation covered stringent criteria, including the rate of specialized procedures performed, the time required for thrombolytic therapy, and the success of thrombectomy procedures to restore cerebral blood flow.
Since 2021, with research on using stent retrievers combined with aspiration catheters for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion, we have optimized thrombectomy techniques.
Our recanalization rate is nearly 88%, intervention time has been reduced to 48 minutes from arterial puncture, and more than 54% of patients achieve good functional recovery.
This breakthrough allows patients in Gia Lai and neighboring provinces to avoid losing the “golden hour” by being transferred to Ho Chi Minh City.
We have also performed interventions for patients referred from Khánh Hòa, Phú Yên, and local hospitals, while transferring techniques directly to Gia Lai Provincial General Hospital through training and clinical support. This reduces emergency response times, lowers costs, and increases survival rates.
I have known Dr. Trung since 2002, when he began working at the Department of Neurosurgery and Spine. At that time, he mainly performed neurosurgical operations, then pursued a master’s degree at Hanoi Medical University and trained at Việt Đức Hospital…
▪ What led you to specialize in stroke and neurovascular intervention, a field that was still new in Vietnam more than a decade ago?
- In 2009, the hospital invested in a DSA machine for cardiovascular and neurovascular interventions. I was sent to the 108 Military Central Hospital for advanced training.
In May 2010, we performed our first coil embolization for a cerebral aneurysm under the guidance of Professor Lê Văn Trường.
The following months were a period of intense learning but laid the foundation for my colleagues and me to mature in neurovascular intervention.
Over time, techniques such as cerebral aneurysm coiling and large vessel thrombectomy became routine.
We also expanded to peripheral vascular procedures, including uterine fibroid embolization, liver cancer embolization, lower limb interventions, and managing bleeding from traumatic injuries.
These advances allowed patients to be treated locally, avoiding risky and costly transfers.
▪ To achieve Platinum Standard recognition, you and your colleagues must have faced considerable challenges and sacrifices?
- Previously, there were almost no effective methods for cerebral revascularization. Only since 2010 have major hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City begun applying them.
At the provincial level, it was rare; we had to learn as we worked. The greatest pressure was the need for constant updates, as knowledge and techniques evolve each year.
Without dedication, we could never have brought new techniques to serve our patients. It was a worthy sacrifice.
Dr. Nguyễn Văn Trung (born 1978, in Bình Định Ward) has received a certificate of merit and the “Creative Labor” badge from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; numerous certificates of merit from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Provincial People’s Committee; awards from the Provincial technical innovation contest and recognition as an outstanding intellectual in science and technology.
In 2024, he was honored with the title of distinguished physician.
He is passionate about scientific research, believing it is the way to improve treatment and save more patients during the “golden hour.”
Notably, he has led provincial-level research on uterine fibroid embolization, primary liver cancer embolization, and especially stent retriever thrombectomy combined with aspiration for stroke patients with large vessel occlusion.
▪ Speaking of the “golden hour” in stroke treatment, what have you done to save every possible minute for patients?
- In stroke, every minute means millions of brain cells die. Therefore, every step must be optimized and expedited.
But treatment alone is not enough. We have intensified community outreach so that people can recognize early signs of stroke, facial drooping, limb weakness, slurred speech, and bring patients to the hospital in time. This combination has significantly improved survival and recovery rates.
▪ You also serve as an instructor, transferring techniques to other hospitals. What concerns you most on this journey?
- Patients in remote areas still lose too much time traveling. Since 2018, I have worked with the Department of Direction of Healthcare Activities to train local medical staff to recognize stroke, provide initial management, and even administer thrombolytic therapy on-site.
Bồng Sơn Regional General Hospital has successfully implemented this. At Gia Lai General Hospital, we have also begun cerebral angiography with the goal of performing thrombectomy procedures.
My only wish is for the stroke emergency network to expand so that no patient misses an opportunity simply because they live far away.
▪ Thank you very much!
