So No Child Must Wait

The Amazing Hien

Chau Doc, Vietnam - Tim Sproule, plastic surgeon - The amazing Hien - dedicated and skilled anesthesiologist in a child’s body – met us at the airport to help us through customs…

  loading the boxes 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

We have arrived. The famous jumbled train of airport carts piled high with Interplast supply boxes combined with our own luggage proceeds towards customs. But we hit a snag. Some part of the paperwork is screwed up, or maybe the official is just corrupt or obstructive. Lian asks me to get on my cellphone because hers is “out of money”- amazingly it works just fine- and I call Hien, who is supposed to be there waiting for us. (Not for the first time I think of our incredible shrinking world thanks to technology. The phone signal presumably goes from my phone through the Vietnam exchange to an international exchange then to Toronto, then back to international, and back to Vietnam to find Hien’s cell phone. Truly incredible.) Hien answers her phone. She is allowed in, and is soon able to sort out whatever was a problem. We are on our way.

  Dr. Hien 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Most Interplast teams that come to Vietnam meet up with Hien. Those that do not know her are initially surprised. Who is this diminutive woman in jeans and a t-shirt who acts with such paradoxical confidence as she cuts through red tape and miscommunication? She looks nothing like what she is, which is nothing less that one of Vietnam’s best anesthesiologists. Her selfless dedication to improving the quality of life of the poorest people in Vietnam through her involvement with Interplast is an amazing testament. As long as there are people like Hien in the world, I will continue to have hope...

Dong Thap Hospital's Dr. Hien

Dong Thap Hospital's Dr. Hien
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Surgeon Dong Thap’s Dr. Hien was the first assist or the primary surgeon; an Interplast plastic surgeon at the table in case he was needed, but she did several cleft lips and palates; it was a great opportunity to see Interplast education and empowerment mission in action.

Education and Empowerment

  Primary Surgeon Dr. Hien 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam - Surgeon Dong Thap’s Dr. Hien was the first assist or the primary surgeon; an Interplast plastic surgeon was at the table in case he was needed, but she did several cleft lips and palates. It was a great opportunity to see Interplast education and empowerment mission in action.

Hien Runs A Mean Clinic

  Best Clinic Day Ever, Thanks To Hien 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Cao Lanh, Vietnam - Many of the Interplast volunteers said that this was the best clinic they had ever experienced. Much credit needs to be given to Dr. Hien Thi Nguyen, Interplast’s key partner in Vietnam. An anesthesiologist in Ho Chi Minh City, Hien is critical to the work Interplast does in all of Vietnam. At more than six sites in Vietnam, she nurtures and builds relationships for Interplast to provide surgical team trips and visiting educator workshops. Not only that, she runs a mean clinic, keeping what could be a chaotic situation completely under control.