Vietnamese Blue Berets have successfully held surgeries for four United Nations officials in South Sudan, one of two countries that Vietnam is sending peacekeepers to.

A Vietnamese medical doctor at UN Level II Hospital in South Sudan takes care of patient. Photo: Level II Hospital

All the patients, who are South Sudanese working for the United Nations, endured nagging pains and got checkups at different hospitals in Egypt, Kenya, and Uganda.

The patients came to Level II Hospital No.3 operated by Vietnamese doctors of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Bentiu, South Sudan, and got good consultation, checkups, surgeries, and postoperative care.

Three out of four suffered chronic appendicitis that caused prolonged or intermittent abdominal pain and challenged diagnosis.

The first patient is a UN security officer whose conditions were diagnosed as chronic appendicitis. After a thorough examination, close monitoring of symptoms combined with imaging and laboratory results, the doctors thought of chronic appendicitis – a very rare disease mentioned in the medical literature.

The successful surgery has relieved anxiety and brought the patient back to normal life.

After the success of the first surgery, the next two patients were South Sudanese and colleagues of the first patient, with similar symptoms. They went to Level II Field Hospital No.3 in hope of getting rid of persistent pain.

The fourth surgery was related to perianal abscesses. The patient was examined many times at the UN Level I Hospital but the treatment did not help. Abscesses cause a lot of pain for the patient and can lead to systemic infection. Vietnamese doctors diagnosed and performed the surgery in a timely manner.

In addition to surgical procedures, the successful performance of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks has helped ease the postoperative pains for the patients.

In his thank-you letter upon discharge, UN security officer Bwangani Issac wrote “Vietnam Level II Hospital, UNMISS in Bentiu has excellent medical service. I am very grateful and satisfied with professional doctors and nurses. The quality of medical services is hard to describe in words while the consultation is always perfect. Meanwhile, Vietnamese food is also excellent, especially congee… Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Vietnam and the United Nations for their careful recruitment to send the best doctors and nurses to South Sudan to help protect the lives of UN personnel who are helping the people of South Sudan.”

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said he highly appreciates Vietnam’s participation in Level II Hospitals in South Sudan which is necessary for dangerous conflict areas.

The operations of such hospitals, peacekeepers can rest assured doing their mission and will be treated in the event of an accident and feel cared for and protected, the official said in a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnam operated Level II Hospital in South Sudan in October 2018 and sent 75 military doctors and nurses so far.

Since 2014, hundreds of Vietnamese peacekeepers worked for UNMISS, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), a contested enclave between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan.