Vietnamese hospital sets national record with nearly 4,300 robot-assisted surgeries over 10 years

The hospital held a ceremony on Saturday to mark 10 years of pioneering robot-assisted surgery for adults in Vietnam and officially received a certificate recognizing the record.

The record recognizes Binh Dan Hospital as the pioneer in performing robot-assisted surgery on adults, with the highest number of procedures in thoracic and vascular surgery, general surgery, and urologic surgery in Vietnam from 2016 to 2026.

Assoc. Prof. Tran Vinh Hung, the hospital’s director, said the facility faced a major challenge 10 years ago, when robot-assisted surgery was emerging as a revolution in surgery in many developed countries.

The challenge was how to enable Vietnamese patients to benefit from the most advanced medical achievements at home, with international-quality care at an affordable cost, he said.

In 2016, the hospital decided to introduce robot-assisted surgery for adults, despite having no practical experience with the technology in Vietnam.

With support from Ho Chi Minh City leaders and the municipal Department of Health, as well as the determination and solidarity of its staff, the hospital took on the role of a pioneer, Hung said.

After performing nearly 4,300 robot-assisted surgeries over the past decade, the hospital now has 26 robot-assisted surgery teams and routinely performs 15 types of complex procedures.

Cancer-related surgeries in thoracic, general and urologic surgery account for 95 percent of all robot-assisted procedures performed at the hospital.

At the ceremony, Binh Dan Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in South Korea.

The agreement marks a concrete step toward developing a Center of Excellence for robot-assisted surgery, while expanding opportunities for professional exchanges and research and promoting personalized cancer treatment.

A scientific conference on robot-assisted surgery in thoracic, general and urologic surgery was also held at the hospital on Saturday.

The event brought together Vietnamese and international experts to share experience in using robotic technology to treat cancer, perform complex urologic surgeries and explore trends in training for the next generation of minimally invasive surgery.

At the end of 2016, Binh Dan Hospital became the first healthcare facility in Vietnam to introduce robot-assisted surgery for adults, marking a milestone in the country’s surgical field.

Over the following decade, the hospital mastered the technology and provided technical training and technology transfer to several hospitals in Vietnam and abroad.

In early 2026, Binh Dan Hospital was officially licensed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health to provide basic robot-assisted surgery training.

The program is equivalent to 160 credits and is open to postgraduate-qualified surgeons from across Vietnam.