Doctors at Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City are performing interventions on 18 children with complex atrial septal defects while transmitting live images of the procedures to both domestic and international specialists.

This marks a highlight of the 11th Vietnam Congress of Congenital and Structural Heart Disease, themed 'Atrial Septal Defect from A to Z,' held from Wednesday to Friday in the southern metropolis.

The event has attracted around 100 domestic pediatric cardiologists and more than 200 leading experts from countries including the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Australia, China, and India.

Over the three days, more than 30 patients have undergone cardiovascular interventions at six cardiovascular centers in Vietnam and abroad, including Children’s Hospital 1 and Tam Anh General Hospital in Vietnam; Queen Sirikit Hospital in Thailand; Institut Jantung Negara in Malaysia; National Taiwan University Hospital; and Apollo Hospital, Navi Mumbai in India.

At Children’s Hospital 1 alone, doctors have performed interventions on 18 young patients with complex atrial septal defects.

Dr. Do Nguyen Tin, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease, explained that atrial septal defect is one of the most common congenital heart defects, affecting 2.5 out of every 1,000 live births, with 25-30 percent of cases persisting into adulthood. 

While surgery was once the primary treatment for the defect, many cases are now resolved through less invasive interventions.

“Thanks to advances in pediatric cardiovascular intervention, atrial septal defects can now be treated much more simply, with significantly lower complication and mortality rates compared to surgery,” Dr. Tin said.

Dr. Ngo Ngoc Quang Minh, deputy director of Children’s Hospital 1, added that over the past 20 years, the mortality rate for congenital heart disease has dropped to 0.4 percent from eight percent. 

Cardiovascular interventions now address even the most complex congenital heart conditions, including those in newborns and fetuses.

In 2024, Children’s Hospital 1 and Tu Du Hospital collaborated to perform eight fetal cardiac catheterizations, with six cases being successful. 

Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia to successfully perform this specialized technique.

During the congress, Dr. Yen Ho, a leading expert in cardiovascular morphology at Royal Brompton Hospital in the UK, and Dr. Zahid Amin, a renowned expert in congenital heart intervention at Orlando Hospital in the U.S., provided hands-on training and conducted live demonstrations using pig hearts.

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