Hoang Dinh Cau - an outstanding son of Nghe An homeland

• November 27, 2013 17:08

(Baonghean) -Professor Hoang Dinh Cau (April 1, 1917 - July 18, 2005) was an outstanding son of his homeland Nghe An. Dedicated and wholeheartedly contributing to science, he was recognized as "The old pillar of Vietnamese Medicine", was awarded many noble titles by the State and was respected and admired by international friends.

Professor
Hoang Dinh Cau

Professor Hoang Dinh Cau was born into a family with a tradition of studiousness in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district. After graduating from Hue National School, he entered the Indochina University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Hanoi and graduated as a medical doctor in 1944, the last class trained by the French. Graduating with a degree in surgery, young doctor Hoang Dinh Cau became a lecturer in Surgery and the Faculty of Surgery at the University of Medicine, and a resident physician at Phu Doan Hospital (now Viet Duc Hospital, Hanoi).

After the Geneva Agreement of 1954, peace was restored, Dr. Hoang Dinh Cau was in the group that took over medical facilities in Hanoi. He was then appointed Director of Phu Doan Hospital (1954-1955) and studied in Moscow (1955-1958). Returning to Vietnam, he started to build the first Lung Surgery Department in the North and became the founder of the Vietnamese Lung Surgery specialty. He was a pioneer in resecting half of a lung lobe in lung cancer in a more reasonable and effective way than resecting the entire lung; reducing body temperature during lung surgery, reducing the amount of blood transfusion for patients during surgery by infusing electrolyte solutions; resecting atypical lungs with peripheral lesions.

He was also the pioneer in the application of acupuncture anesthesia in surgery, and the one who proposed the non-specific immunotherapy method for lung cancer, thanks to which many patients lived for more than 10 years. In 3 decades (1960-1990), with his energetic hands, intelligent mind, and sensitive heart, Professor Hoang Dinh Cau successfully performed surgery on 2,000 patients with serious lung diseases.

In the Professor, we find a dedicated physician who loves his profession, loves his work and is full of compassion. During the war, despite having to take on many important responsibilities, he still performed his duties as a physician excellently, donating blood many times to promptly save patients in critical situations, contributing to saving the lives of thousands of wounded soldiers, sick soldiers and war victims. As a teacher, after more than 40 years of teaching, the Professor has truly become a typical image of an exemplary teacher in the mission of educating people in the health sector. In his positions as Director of the Training Department (1959-1970), Deputy Minister of Health (1971-1989) and Principal of Hanoi Medical University (1985-1990), the Professor reorganized the Medical University, built a teaching staff, improved the curriculum and teaching and learning methods. He also worked as Head of the Department of Practical Surgery, compiled textbooks, and initiated the construction of medical centers of institutes and schools.

The Professor's goal is to have a large number of medical staff at university, high school and primary levels in our country who are qualified in both professional and medical ethics in a short time. One of his priority tasks is to translate French medical documents into Vietnamese to facilitate teaching and learning.

In addition to writing many textbooks and reference books, he has always been interested in preventive medicine and traditional medicine following the Vietnamese medical line. Having devoted his life to training staff, the Professor has contributed significantly to the building and development of a strong medical staff team as it is today. Generations of his students have also become professors, associate professors... and are holding many important positions in the industry. In addition, he is also the editor-in-chief of the French - Vietnamese and Russian - Vietnamese Medical Dictionary; writes articles in the Encyclopedia of Pathology, and is Head of the Medical Department in the Compilation Council of the Vietnamese Encyclopedia. Professor Hoang Dinh Cau's scientific career has significantly contributed to building the country's medical sector to gradually integrate into the world's modern medicine. In 1982, the Professor was appointed to concurrently hold the position of Chairman of the Committee to investigate the consequences of Agent Orange (UB10-80), continuing the work that Professor Ton That Tung had laid the foundation for. After 18 years, the work has concluded and been recognized by scientists around the world.

A talented and virtuous person like Professor Hoang Dinh Cau is always attached to the masses and to everyday life. He is a National Assembly delegate, a member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and the General Secretary of the Vietnam Medical Association, now the General Association of Medicine and Pharmacy, since its establishment (1955). He is also the Chairman of the Vietnam - Federal Republic of Germany Friendship Association (1985-1990), an advisor to the World Health Organization (1977-1992), Head of the Vietnamese Medical Delegation attending many sessions of the World Health Assembly and the Western Pacific, Head of the Vietnamese Medical Delegation attending the International Conference on Primary Health Care, attending the International Conference on Population...

In 1997, on the occasion of the Professor's 80th birthday, Professor Pham Song, former Minister of Health, wrote: "Professor Hoang Dinh Cau is a pillar of Vietnamese Medicine." The Professor was honored by our State with the title of People's Teacher, Hero of Labor, and was awarded the State Prize for Science and Technology. The Professor's name was also recorded in the International Biography Dictionary by the Cambridge International Biography Center (UK) and in the Marquis Biography Publishing Council (USA).

Tran Kim Don