Dr. Vee on Track to Become Lao Friends Hospital's First In-House General Surgeon
Now in his third and final year of surgical training, Dr. Vee reflects on his recent rotation and the road ahead for pediatric surgery in northern Laos. He is due to return to LFHC in early 2027 as our first in-house general surgeon.
When Dr. Vee first trained as a pediatrician, he could not have imagined that one day he would return to the same environment as a surgeon in the making.
Yet that is precisely where he found himself, back where he began his medical journey, this time learning alongside Dr Marshall Stone in an intensive, hands-on surgical mentorship. Dr. Stone, Director of Pediatric Surgery from Florida, agreed to volunteer at LFHC for three months, in which he trained 14 final year surgical residents from the University of Health Science Vientiane.
Learn more about the Surgical Training program led by Dr Stone
(Picture of 10-year-old, Mongern with her mom and Dr Stone, post surgery)
This latest rotation is part of Dr Vee's third and final year of surgical training. Among the procedures Dr. Vee performed alongside Dr. Stone during this placement was a splenectomy on a 10-year-old patient (pictured here) with thalassemia, who was suffering for several years from an enlarged spleen. This is a case that illustrates the importance of pediatric surgical care in Laos.
Thalassemia is one of the most common conditions we see at LFHC. The Thalassemia clinic at LFHC is the biggest outpatient clinic, with patient numbers steadily growing each year. Frequent complication is severe spleen enlargement that requires surgical removal. Given how prevalent this blood disorder is across Laos, splenectomy is a procedure our surgeons must be prepared to perform, making it a significant milestone in Dr Vee's pediatric surgical training.
Dr Vee and Dr Stone performing a splenectomy
“Working with Dr. Stone on that case was a special moment for me. To be part of giving that child relief, and to know I was building skills to help these children in the future, gave me a deep sense of purpose and validated the reasons why I wanted to become a surgeon.”
When Dr. Vee returns to LFHC in early 2027, he will take on a role that has never existed before: the hospital's first-ever in-house general surgeon. It is a milestone that carries a huge responsibility, and Dr. Vee is under no illusion about the scale of the task ahead.
Years of support from volunteers and generous donors have given Lao Friends Hospital for Children a strong foundation in infrastructure, in culture, and in the relationships that make training programs like this possible.
Looking Ahead into the Future
Dr Vee's journey is not a solo one. In total, LFHC has three surgeons in training. Dr. Vee leads the way as the first to complete his program. After him, a second general surgeon will follow, and a third is training in orthopedic surgery. Together, they represent the beginning of a surgical capability that the hospital has long aspired to build.
We are so grateful to Dr Stone for dedicating his time and expertise to training Dr Vee and the future surgeons of Laos. None of this would exist without volunteers like him and the generosity of our donors.
It is this support that makes these training programs possible and ensures that every child who comes to LFHC receives free, high-quality surgical care, no matter where they are from or what their family can afford.
