Professor, Doctor, Physician Van Tan: An icon in the field of surgery has gone far...

SGGP 09/05/2023 05:28

September 4th this year was the saddest day for all medical staff of Binh Dan Hospital in general and generations of students of Professor, Doctor, Doctor Van Tan in particular, when witnessing the eternal departure of the Teacher.

Professor, Doctor, and Physician Van Tan during a visit to a patient. Photo: DOCUMENT

More than 48 years ago, when I was just entering the residency program, Prof. Dr. Van Tan was already the Head of the Department of Surgery at Binh Dan Hospital. I learned a lot from him. Prof. Dr. Van Tan is a dedicated person, a good surgeon, with a cool hand, working day and night for difficult emergency cases that his juniors invited him to consult. That is what I admire most about him.

Although, when he retired, he should have been able to rest after many years of dedication to the country's medical industry, for him, the greatest joy is to examine, treat, and perform surgery on patients every day. That is why, even though he has reached retirement age, he continues to stay at the hospital to do professional work. Few people know that Professor, Doctor, and Physician Van Tan always arrives at the hospital very early, from 5-6 am, and leaves when the city lights are on. For decades, he has always been present whenever patients need him, whether it is a holiday, New Year's Day, or late at night. And during his visits, he always arranges for more seriously ill patients to visit and consult first - this habit has been maintained for many years and without any discrimination.

Many generations of medical students at the Center for Training and Development of Medical Staff (now Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine) will never forget the image of the teacher wearing a special blouse, gentle but extremely strict. As always, the first lesson that teacher Van Tan taught his students was a lesson about ethics, focusing on the patient. For him, a doctor, in addition to expertise, must put medical ethics first.

As a lover of scientific research, Prof. Dr. Van Tan has written on almost every topic of surgery. He has conducted more than 300 valuable scientific research works. His knowledge and surgical experience over nearly 60 years has been summarized and brought into each lecture to "pass on the torch" to generations of medical students, who will replace him in continuing medical ethics, treating and saving people. For every patient, Prof. Dr. Van Tan is always dedicated and thoughtful in treatment and has saved the lives of many patients who were on the brink of death.

The passing of Professor, Doctor, Doctor Van Tan is a loss to the Vietnamese surgical profession in general and to Binh Dan Hospital in particular. A noble symbol of the medical profession in surgery has been lost! We respectfully bow our heads in farewell to the eternal departure of the Master with endless sorrow!

According to information from his family, Professor, Doctor, Doctor Van Tan, born in 1932 in Quang Tri, passed away at 10:15 a.m. on September 4, at the age of 92. He was the former Deputy Director of Binh Dan Hospital (HCMC), and one of the three main surgeons in the separation of Vietnamese-German twins in 1988. He was honored as the best arterial surgeon in Vietnam, the second best liver surgeon in the country, and the first Vietnamese doctor to perform thoracic sympathetic nerve resection and abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery. He was honored by the State and the Ministry of Health as an Excellent Physician (1997), People's Physician (2005), and Labor Hero (2006).

The coffin of Professor, Doctor, Doctor Van Tan is located at 99, Street 19, Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. The funeral will be held at 6:30 p.m. on September 4. The visitation will be from 7:30 p.m. on September 4 to 5:00 a.m. on September 7. The funeral will be held at 6:00 a.m. on September 7. The cremation will be held at Hoa Lac Vien - Sala Garden Cemetery (Dong Nai Province).

THANH AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/gs-ts-bs-van-tan-bieu-tuong-trong-linh-vuc-ngoai-khoa-da-di-xa-post704308.html