Dr. Mai Linh - Cho Ray Hospital: The only female doctor in the field of cranial surgery in the South

Many patients in the Department of Neurosurgery, Cho Ray Hospital are familiar with Mai Linh, the only female doctor in cranial surgeries, who fondly call her "steel rose".

Cranial surgeries are both complicated and lengthy, with shifts of up to 10 hours, with operations using heavy equipment such as gripping, sawing while the brain is intertwined, millions of tiny neurotransmitters ... The endurance of a woman over time may decrease, someone withdraws due to childbirth. But that petite doctor has always trained herself and affirmed her passion, pursuing the profession for nearly 15 years.

On 24/2/2019, Ho Chi Minh City Union HCMC honored 37 outstanding young physicians to receive the 6th Pham Ngoc Thach Award / 2019. In 4 doctors of Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC) HCM) was commended, the only female doctor of the Department of Neurosurgery, Dr. Tran Thi Mai Linh (born in 1984). Although there are more gentle specialty options, Dr. Tran Thi Mai Linh finds herself excited about surgeries that retain functions in patients' skulls. After graduating from Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, she continued to study for 3 more years as a resident doctor specializing in neurosurgery.

Not a greenhouse rose

From her first surgery to suck a hematoma in her brain, she has performed more complex cranial surgeries. Although she is the only female doctor, in the work of the Department of Neurosurgery, male and female doctors are assigned equal jobs and require each individual to make efforts to complete his or her job well.

"The human brain has millions of intertwined neurons, tiny transmission pathways that even a microscope cannot see. Therefore, cranial surgeons must always ask themselves to be careful and delicate when managing damage in the patient's brain in the best way, avoiding the risk of accidents or loss of a memory area, loss of speech, movement, even pushing the patient to become a vegetative person or worst of all, the patient dies." Physician. Mai Linh shared.

Entering each surgery, depending on each patient, Dr. Mai Linh has a different approach, finding out family history, professional characteristics, life habits... That attention makes the treatment better.

She said: "Here the surgeons mostly go to work early but come back very late, they may not see the sun. Because many times when the surgery is completed, it is necessary to monitor the patient's progress before returning with peace of mind. Here the surgery is not calculated by the hour but by the surgical cases, seeing that the patient is stable, the doctor will go back."

At Cho Ray Hospital, there are an average of 20-30 brain tumor surgeries per week, about more than 30 spinal surgeries. Besides, there are many surgeries due to injuries and pathologies, the work is often overloaded.

According to Assoc. TS. Dr. Huynh Le Phuong, Head of Neurosurgery Department of Cho Ray Hospital, for difficult cases, an operation can last 7-8 hours, simple cases also take 3-4 hours. For female doctors, endurance to prolonged stress is usually more difficult than men, but Dr. Mai Linh has overcome that normality, because of her hard work and perseverance in pursuing her passion.

Head of Neurosurgery Department Huynh Le Phuong said: "After Dr. Mai Linh graduated as a resident and returned to the neurosurgery department of Cho Ray Hospital, Dr. Mai Linh was very striving, in addition to her daily treatment, Dr. Mai Linh also participated in scientific research in the department. I appreciate that Dr. Mai Linh has great potential and is one of the doctors who will develop well in the future. The cases Dr. Mai Linh operated on were mostly successful."

There are treatment stories Dr. Mai Linh always remembers as the story of a patient, the only son in a family, after a traffic accident, suffering from a brain infection and resistance to all drugs; passed away after surgery and treatment.

Despite the "steel" spirit on the operating table, when there are surgeries that are not as successful as expected, even in many cases where patients do not regain consciousness, Dr. Mai Linh shed tears when watching patients leave.

Despite knowing that the death could be due to a medical accident, or due to unexpected illnesses, the patient suddenly became serious: "There are things that leave a very deep imprint on my heart, it can be a difficult situation, a case that is too missing. Or if there are times when there are cases that are not as perfect as I would like, I myself am sad and very thoughtful. It's a cumulative process, every day you have to try harder, really just trying to treat the patient."

Dr. Tran Thi Mai Linh is one of the rare female doctors in neurosurgery. Nearly 14 years of work, experiencing a lot of stress with the case situation, the patient may be in a coma, but the good and timely surgical intervention, the patient recovers quickly is a great motivation for Dr. Mai Linh to continue pursuing her professional passion.

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