The Vinmec Healthcare System has successfully performed a highly complex liver transplant for an 8-month-old infant, N.L.T., weighing only 6.5 kilograms, using a liver donated by a brain-dead donor. This marks the first time a private hospital in Vietnam has successfully carried out a liver transplant for one of the youngest and lightest pediatric patients ever recorded. This achievement once again affirms Vinmec’s outstanding medical expertise and its seamless, professional coordination in performing highly complex organ transplants.
The infant patient, N.L.T., was diagnosed with end-stage cirrhosis caused by biliary atresia. Although the Kasai procedure was performed when the baby was just 1.5 months old, liver function did not improve, leading to severe complications. The child had to be hospitalized 1–2 times per month due to serious symptoms such as abdominal distension, enlarged spleen, ascites, and difficulty breathing caused by an enlarged liver pressing against the diaphragm. In this situation, liver transplantation was the only life-saving treatment option.
Upon receiving a compatible liver from a brain-dead donor at Bach Mai Hospital, Vinmec’s Medical Council, chaired by People’s Physician, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Duc Huan, promptly activated a multidisciplinary coordination protocol to carry out the transplant. This was an exceptionally complex surgery, not only due to the infant’s extremely low body weight but also because of a prolonged medical history that had led to multiple vital function disorders.
The medical team at Vinmec meticulously developed a detailed treatment plan and thoroughly prepared the safest and most optimal strategies for anesthesia, resuscitation, and particularly the liver transplant technique for such a small child.
“The surgery, which lasted more than 10 hours, was successfully completed with every step carried out precisely and in perfect coordination, minute by minute,” shared Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Thanh – Chief of the surgical team and Senior Advisor to Vinmec’s Liver Transplant Program, a leading expert in liver transplantation in Vietnam.
According to Dr. Dao Duc Dung, MD, PhD – Hepatobiliary Surgeon at the Department of Gastrointestinal, Hepatobiliary and Urological Surgery, Vinmec Times City International Hospital, and the lead surgeon of the operation:
“With the patient's medical history, the surgery posed significant challenges related to coagulation disorders, complex anatomy, and vascular reconstruction.”
Immediately after waking from anesthesia, the baby let out a strong, healthy cry – a powerful sign of recovery after a life-saving battle. Currently, the child's health is progressing well, with good eating and sleeping patterns, and gradually improving liver function.
"My child let out a cry after the transplant – the first strong cry after 8 long months of battling illness. I was speechless in that moment, because to me, it was the cry of a second birth," the baby's mother shared emotionally.
This exceptionally complex liver transplant not only marks a breakthrough in organ transplantation techniques in Vietnam, but also highlights the seamless and scientific coordination between departments within and beyond Vinmec to maximize the “golden window” after the liver is retrieved from the donor.
People’s Doctor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Duc Huan shared:
“The donor was a brain-dead patient who donated multiple organs (heart, lungs, liver, and corneas), so the entire process of organ retrieval – transportation – transplantation required close, continuous coordination and strict adherence to technical and time-related protocols.”
Liver transplantation is one of the most complex procedures in modern medicine, requiring exceptional professional expertise and a highly coordinated support system. Since 2017, however, Vinmec has proactively implemented and fully mastered this advanced technique, successfully performing numerous liver transplants with particularly high levels of difficulty. Among the most notable are transplants for children weighing under 10kg, patients with acute liver failure on the background of chronic cirrhosis, ABO-incompatible transplants, third-time liver retransplantations, and cases involving complex anatomical variations in the vasculature and bile ducts of both donor and recipient.
Remarkably, Vinmec is currently the only private healthcare provider in Vietnam to have successfully performed liver transplants using living donors. It also ranks second nationwide in terms of the number of living donor liver transplants performed.
Guided by its vision of academic medicine, Vinmec has made strategic investments in both human resources and infrastructure. Its medical team includes leading experts from Vietnam and abroad, working alongside state-of-the-art facilities and internationally accredited operating rooms. These strengths have enabled Vinmec not only to master highly complex liver transplant techniques but also to pioneer the successful treatment of numerous rare and extremely challenging medical cases. Notable examples include:
- The world’s first simultaneous 3D-printed pelvic and femur bone replacement
- Southeast Asia’s first 3D-printed titanium chest wall reconstruction
- The world’s second documented case of pseudotumor treatment caused by metal toxicity from artificial joints
- A rare case of retroperitoneal Castleman disease
- Vietnam’s first case of autoimmune encephalitis treated with stem cell therapy
After 12 years of development, Vinmec has grown into the largest private multi-specialty healthcare system in Vietnam, with 9 hospitals and 4 clinics across various provinces and cities. Among them, two hospitals have achieved JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation from the U.S.—a globally recognized standard for patient safety and healthcare quality—underscoring Vinmec’s strong commitment to developing academic, specialized, and sustainable healthcare focused on comprehensive human well-being.
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