Professor takes advanced surgical techniques to Vietnam

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In March, Lance J. Hampton, M.D., chair of the Department of Urology in the School of Medicine, carried high-tech expertise to Hue, the ancient former capital city of Vietnam.

It was his third trip to Hue in five years, traveling as part of an organization called International Volunteers in Urology. Based out of Salt Lake City, IVUmed organizes urologists who volunteer to provide medical and surgical education to physicians and nurses and treatment to thousands of children and adults. Hampton traveled this year with two residents – Albert Petrossian, M.D., who is at VCU, and Lawrence Jenkins, who is at the University of Miami.

Hampton first chose to travel to Vietnam five years ago “because, at the time, I had never been to that part of the world and wanted to see it. It was also a way to involve my urology residents in the trip as there is a urology residency in Hue, Vietnam.”

Hampton holds the Barbara and William B. Thalhimer Professorship in Urology. He said that the endowed professorship supports his efforts to advance the urology program in multiple ways, including opportunities like this one.

On this trip and the others before it, he partners with physicians at Hue University. He demonstrates advanced surgical techniques developed in VCU’s operating rooms in a region of the world that is severely lacking in modern technology and training.

At the VCU Health System, Hampton is medical director of robotic surgery, one of the busiest programs in the Mid-Atlantic region. He’s found the Vietnamese surgeons to be very interested in how he performs laparoscopy and endoscopy procedures, which are uncommon in Vietnam. For example, this year, Hampton performed a laparaoscopic cystoprostatectomy for bladder cancer that was just the seventh procedure of its kind in Hue.

In Hue, Hampton’s team typically handled four or five surgical cases each day, including the kind of open kidney stone cases that are atypical in the United States.

“With the expansion of minimally invasive surgery for kidney stones, these procedures are extremely rare in the U.S., but are standard practice in Vietnam,” Hampton said. “This gives my residents and me the opportunity to perform operations that we rarely see anymore.”

His residents have benefited in other ways as well from this cultural exchange, Hampton said. “It has helped each of them to foster a philanthropic spirit, dedicating themselves to ultimately what draws all of us to medicine – the desire to help others.”

IVUmed provides scholarships to residents who participate, and School of Medicine has also sponsored residents on the trips. On previous visits, Hampton and his team of residents have met up with other urologists in training from Duke, Northwestern and the University of Oregon.

“I have now spent over a month of my life in Vietnam and I always enjoy it immensely,” Hampton said. “The people are friendly and welcoming. They love having visitors to their country and sharing with you their culture and their lifestyle.”

 

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