The predecessor of the Burns Department was the Burns Division within the Department of Field Surgery (VMMU) led by Assoc. Prof. Nguyen An Thuc – Dean of the Department; Dr. Nguyen Van Dong – Vice Dean of the Department.
On July 29, 1987, the Burns Division was separated and established as the Burns Department (BM3), with Dr. Nguyen Van Dong as the dean of the department.
1989 – 10/1995: Dr. Tran Xuan Van was in charge of the Burns Department.
10/1995 – 1998: Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Van Hue was appointed as the Vice Dean of the department, in charge of the Burns Department.
1998 – 6/2014: Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Van Hue, Dean of the Burns Department.
6/2014 – Present: Colonel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Dean of the Burns Department.
In the academic year 1964-1965, the department was assigned the task of training the first specialized class of 10 burn doctors.
They have authored two volumes:
Burns in War (published by the Military Medical Department)
Things to Know About Burns (published by the Military Medical Department)
From 1992 to 1998, the Burns Department opened specialized classes 1 and 2, as well as research on burns.
Under the leadership of the academy (now VMMU) from 1964 to 1998, the Burns Department carried out training and education as follows:
Training research fellows (Ph.D.).
Training master’s degree in burns.
Training specialized burns: Preliminary level, Level I, Level II.
Conducting training workshops on burns.
Providing knowledge on burns in the curriculum for long-term doctors, basic doctors, nursing graduates, medical practitioners, and nurses at VMMU. Additionally, they provided further training on burn knowledge for doctors, nursing graduates, medical practitioners, and nurses in localities.
The department has compiled numerous textbooks and specialized burn books.
The prominent training and treatment missions of the Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery Department – Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital– Vietnam Military Medical University are noteworthy. The department, serving as the center for Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, has been assigned crucial tasks involving training, treatment, and scientific research. Over the years, the department and center have consistently excelled in fulfilling their assigned missions, particularly in the field of training.
In the academic year 2022-2023, the Department – Center has to carry out a significant workload in training. This involves conducting graduation exams for specialized class 1, organizing thesis defenses for specialized class 2 as well as postgraduate studies. At the same time, the department is tasked with guiding the outline for research projects for new students specializing in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.
In September-October 2022, the Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery Department – Center successfully conducted graduation exams for 11 students in Specialized Class 1, Course 45. The process was carried out diligently, ensuring quality, and achieving a 100% success rate as all doctors completed their courses with excellent results.
During this period, the department also collaborated with the postgraduate department of VMMU to successfully defend specialized class 2 theses for six specialized class 2 doctors. Several topics showed high quality, such as the thesis titled “Evaluation of the results of auricular reconstruction using porous polyethylene framework for patients with congenital microtia” by student Tran Thi Thanh Huyen. Huyen successfully defended her specialized class 2 thesis with a high score from the thesis evaluation board.
With the knowledge acquired, the department hopes that Dr. Huyen will perform her duties excellently in the Department of Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery at Viet Duc Hospital.
During the first two weeks of October, in addition to treating challenging cases requiring the use of surgical techniques, the department continued to collaborate with the examination room and postgraduate department to check data and simultaneously evaluate master’s theses for 15 students in Specialized Class 29 of Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery. Through the department-level thesis defense, the instructors provided feedback to the students, pointing out areas for improvement in their theses, ensuring the best preparation for the university-level master’s thesis defense.
Continuing with the training activities, the department also proceeded with the outline for the research of Phan Thuc Trang, a research fellow, with the topic: “Study on the Application of Radiation Therapy for Raised Scars Post-Surgery.” This is a novel technique in treating raised scars, a feasible study that brings about effective treatment for patients with raised scar conditions. The treatment using this method involves a combination of surgery and radiation therapy using the SRT100 radiation therapy machine, a widely recognized standard treatment process worldwide. The SRT-100 radiation therapy machine has been transferred by foreign experts to the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital since 2020.
Experts conducting direct evaluations on patients
Technology transfer for treating raised scars using the SRT100 radiation therapy machine
Since its transfer, this technology has been effectively applied, exploited, and researched by the department and center. In terms of treatment, it has yielded positive results for patients with raised scars, with a recurrence rate of less than 5%, compared to the previous rate of over 80%.
Before surgery After surgery After 6 months of radiation therapy
Regarding scientific research and training, the department has summarized clinical results into scientific articles published in domestic journals. With the implementation of this feasible topic for research fellow Phan Thi Thuc Trang, there will undoubtedly be further scientific summaries for publication in reputable international journals indexed in the Pubmed or Scopus system.
The above are the noteworthy activities of the Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery Department – Center in the past period. With high unity and solidarity, the collective efforts of the department and center will surely successfully fulfill all assigned tasks.