VIETNAM: Team Performs Country’s First Removal Of Nearly 10kg Polycystic Kidneys With Immediate Transplant

First Simultaneous Polycystic kidney Removal And Living-Donor Transplant At Hue Central Hospital

WORLD NEWS – VIETNAM: Surgeons at Hue Central Hospital carried out a landmark, highly complex operation that combined removal of two massive polycystic kidneys with a living-donor kidney transplant in a single surgical session. Hospital director Professor Phạm Như Hiệp announced the procedure, performed for a male patient with end-stage renal failure whose abdomen was severely distended by the enlarging kidneys. A parallel team procured a healthy kidney from a living donor after both donor and recipient passed rigorous preoperative evaluations.

The coordinated operation lasted slightly more than three hours and involved multiple specialist teams working in tandem. Surgeons removed bilateral polycystic kidneys that together weighed nearly 10 kilograms while preserving both adrenal glands and maintaining meticulous hemostatic control; no blood transfusion was required during or after the procedure. The procurement and immediate implantation of the donor kidney proceeded concurrently, minimizing cold ischemia time and streamlining the transplant phase.

Postoperative progress was rapid and striking: kidney function showed clear improvement within 48 hours, the recipient was fully alert with stable vital signs, and the clinical course required no transfusion. The patient regained baseline wellbeing after about a week of inpatient care and was discharged two weeks after surgery. Hospital leadership described the case as the first of its kind in Vietnam and noted that the combined nephrectomy-and-transplant technique remains rare globally, with very few centers performing it.

The operation highlights advances in multidisciplinary planning, surgical technique, and living-donor transplantation logistics at Hue Central Hospital, and stands as a significant clinical achievement for Vietnam’s transplant program.

Video originally published on 2026-01-21 00:19:06