"Superhero doctor" and the journey to revive distorted faces

Associate Professor Dr Vu Quang Vinh (left) performs surgery with his colleagues. Photo: Qdnd.vn

Vu Quang Vinh was born into a family with a medical tradition. In 1987, he passed the entrance exam for the Vietnam Military Medical University. After graduating, he was assigned to work at the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital.

He first read the news about the technique of chin and neck reconstruction using ultra-thin skin flaps from Professor Hiko Hyakusoku at the Nippon Medical School Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, who developed several pedicled flaps in the 1980s to treat a large number of patients with postburn contractures.

Recognising the usefulness of this technique for burn patients with deformities, Vinh gathered the courage to write a letter to the Japanese professor.

A month later, he received a reply: the Japanese professor accepted to come here and guide him in person.

In early 2000, Professor Hiko Hyakusoku visited Vietnam to transfer surgical techniques to several doctors at the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital. This was the first time Vinh had learned about plastic surgery techniques, which were difficult and unfamiliar to the Vietnamese doctors then.

A year later, he passed an exam and got a scholarship from the Japanese government. He was accepted by Professor Hiko Hyakusoku to study Plastic Surgery at the prestigious Nippon Medical School in Japan.

"In my first two years in Japan, I went to the operating room in the morning and went to the library in the afternoon for self-study. I dissected nearly 40 mouse corpses alone to locate blood vessels and find ways to release them. I also observed how they handled complications so that I would know how to deal with them if I encountered them later," said Vinh.

Upon returning to Vietnam, he performed five plastic surgeries, surprising Professor Hiko as he had only assisted Vinh in surgery twice before.

Dr Vinh checks a patient who was attacked with acid by her fiance. The woman's face was mostly recovered. Photo: Qdnd.vn

The Japanese professor suggested Vinh present his work in person and introduced him at a surgical conference, saying: "This is my outstanding student from Việt Nam. He has elevated my technique of using ultra-thin skin flaps to new heights."

Vinh has performed thousands of surgeries. However, there was a special case of Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, a former judge of the People's Court of Dong Da District, Ha Noi, who was attacked with acid as an act of revenge. With a disfigured face, she underwent over 40 surgeries at renowned hospitals domestically and internationally. Global experts referred to her face as a "challenge of medicine."

The surgery succeeded, lasting nine hours and attracting attention not only in Vietnam but also in other advanced medical communities.

When Loan went to Thailand to continue her cosmetic surgery, the doctors called Vinh the "Superhero Doctor" because of the beautiful reconstructed face.

Today, now past 50, Vinh continues to simultaneously engage in medical examinations and treatments, alongside training the next generation to inherit and advance the special aesthetic surgical techniques he is practising.

Vinh teaches his students to pass on the profession and emphasises their obligations and responsibility towards patients. He tells his students that plastic surgeons have a responsibility towards those who suffer from the unfortunate consequences of burns, injuries, cancer, and more. Many of his students have succeeded, performing challenging surgeries and changing the lives of the less fortunate.

VNS