Transplanted heart and lungs in Vietnam mark a significant medical breakthrough
In a groundbreaking medical achievement, the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in Vietnam performed the country's first successful simultaneous heart-lung transplant on August 13, 2025. The patient was a 38-year-old woman named Tran Nhu Q., who was critically ill due to multiple organ failure.
Tran Nhu Q. was suffering from Eisenmenger syndrome, irreversible right ventricular failure, and severe tricuspid regurgitation, a condition that stemmed from an atrial septal defect treated in 2011. The surgical procedure, which lasted seven hours, involved reducing the size of both lungs and connecting the two main bronchi instead of the traditional trachea.
The donor for the transplant was a 34-year-old brain-dead individual, but their lungs were infected with Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria and were larger than the recipient's chest. Overcoming this challenge, the surgical team managed to resize the donor lungs to fit the recipient.
Key technical challenges during the operation included the infected donor lungs and a size mismatch between the donor and recipient. The team addressed these issues by using advanced surgical techniques and careful management of antibiotics to combat the infection and resize the lungs.
Post-operatively, the biggest challenge was balancing immunosuppressant drugs to reduce the risk of rejection and prevent infection from multidrug-resistant bacteria. Doctors used nearly 40 drugs, combined with ultrafiltration, to treat kidney failure and titrated antibiotics to protect kidney function.
Tran Nhu Q. received intravenous and enteral nutrition, lung hygiene through tracheostomy, endoscopic sputum suction, and rehabilitation exercises. As of now, her heart and lung function have recovered well and are being closely monitored.
Dr Hà Anh Đức, the head of the surgical team, congratulated the success of the medical team, the patient, and their families. He noted that the multi-organ transplant from a brain-dead donor is a remarkable development, marking significant progress in the Vietnamese medical industry.
This operation is a major milestone for Vietnam’s healthcare system, as heart-lung transplants are rare worldwide (approximately 100 annually) due to complexities and donor shortages. The success illustrates advances in multi-organ transplantation and offers hope for critically ill patients in Vietnam.
The Ministry of Health plans to submit proposals aimed at further developing the field of organ transplantation to the National Assembly in May 2026. They will also work with experts to evaluate the heart-lung transplant process and provide specific instructions nationwide.
In 2021, the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital recorded 25 brain-dead donations, making it a breakthrough year for the hospital in multi-organ transplantation. This achievement, coupled with the successful heart-lung transplant, underscores the hospital's commitment to advancing medical care in Vietnam.
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