CCTV gives medical students a cutting edge view of surgery

CCTV gives medical students a cutting edge view of surgery

Setthathirath Hospital has become the first hospital in Laos to use closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) so medical students can gain live experience outside the operating theatre.

Hospital Deputy Director Dr Vangyer Nengmongvang said the cameras, provided by the US-based Lamp Medical Partnership, would directly benefit students from the University of Health Sciences as they gain practical experience.

“The new system allows us to transmit pictures from the operating theatre so that 100 or even 200 students at a time can observe proceedings on a TV screen,” he said.

Previously, only three to five students could fit in the operating theatre at any one time to observe surgeons and anaesthetists at work. In addition to the limited room, students' vision was often obstructed. However, the new system improves all aspects of the experience for students.

President of the Lamp Medical Partnership, Professor Dr James Oudom, said he was pleased to help in the teaching of Lao students as they prepare to become the country's future doctors.

“I realise there are many areas of the health sector that require improvement, but I hope this new equipment will improve the practice of medicine in Laos in the years to come.”

The system also records surgeries onto disc so that provincial doctors can train medical students at a later date.

President of the University of Health Sciences, Associate Professor Dr Som Ock Kingsada, said this latest teaching method will help students as they learn about anaesthesia and various surgical procedures.

The teaching method has been in use in western countries for many years. Vietnamese students gained access to the technology in the 1990s.

“I hope the system will be introduced in other universities and hospitals in Laos in the near future,” said Dr Som Ock.

One student who attended the first screening of a surgery said the video feed enabled him to clearly follow each step of the surgical process.

The US organisation has been helping to develop Setthathirath Hospital since 2005. So far, it has provided assistance worth more than four billion kip (US$500,000).

In addition to improving medical standards at the hospital, the organisation has also supported the health sector in Xieng Khuang province and plans to expand its assistance to other provinces in the future.

The first-ever CCTV screening involved students from the university and doctors viewing surgery to remove a gallbladder stone.

By Xayxana Leukai
(Latest Update March 31, 2010)

Vientiane Times