Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, which owns the nation’s largest burn center, and the Hallym Burn Foundation invited four Vietnamese patients with severe burns to provide free burn surgeries.

Last November, the hospital’s medical support crew visited an emergency hospital in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and provided free medical services to 130 local burn patients while operating burn surgeries for ten of them. After returning home, the team decided to invite four patients for long-term treatment including skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries.

The Hallym Burn Foundation shouldered all the expenses that cover visa issuance, airfares, meals and surgical treatment, and gave them warm clothes to beat the cold in Seoul.

PhamThi Nui, the youngest burn victim had all of her body injured in 2009, when she started walking. She fell into the fire while her mother momentarily failed to attend her. She received immediate treatment right away at a children’s hospital in Ho Chi Minh, however, she had nothing to do but leave the hospital due to a huge charges for surgery and treatment.

Then she happened to learn about Hangang’s free clinic for burn kids and rushed to the emergency hospital. She has been doing well since her surgery including an autodermic graft on December 15 last year.

Dr. Young Chul Jang of Plastic Surgery, who performed her operation, said, “Besides the skin graft, the most important thing is to help her lead a comfortable life by trying to keep her organs functioning normally.”

The Hallym Burn Foundation and the Medical Aid Team of Hangang are going to keep expanding their free medical aid for burn kids to other Asian countries including Indonesia and Mongolia.

By Sung-won Lee, Int’l Operations Team, HUMC (sungwon@hallym.or.kr)