The Dry Liver Surgery Method of Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng

Professor and Doctor Tôn Thất Tùng was one of Vietnam’s most renowned surgeons, especially in the field of liver surgery. He was the creator of the planned liver resection method, also known as the dry liver surgery method or the Tôn Thất Tùng method.

The liver is an organ with many blood vessels, so surgery on the liver can easily cause bleeding and put the patient at risk. In the past, liver resection was often very difficult because it was hard to control blood loss during surgery. Through his careful study of liver anatomy, Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng developed a more proactive and safer way to perform liver surgery.

Professor and Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng (left) during a liver surgery in 1976.

The special feature of this method is that the surgeon relies on the anatomical structure of the liver to determine in advance the part of the liver that needs to be removed. During the operation, the liver tissue is gradually separated by hand to expose the blood vessels and bile ducts. The surgeon then clamps, ligates, and cuts these structures directly within the liver tissue. As a result, bleeding can be better controlled, and the surgical field contains less blood, which is why it is called “dry liver surgery.”

The dry liver surgery method is highly significant because it helps shorten the operation time, reduce blood loss, and increase patient safety. This is an important contribution by Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng to Vietnamese and world medicine.

Not only valuable from a technical perspective, the dry liver surgery method also reflects Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng’s highly modern scientific thinking: surgery must be based on anatomy, must have a clear plan, and must control risks from the very nature of the lesion. It represents a combination of basic research, clinical practice, and surgical innovation. Therefore, the Tôn Thất Tùng method is not merely a surgical technique, but also a symbol of the intelligence, courage, and dedication of Vietnamese physicians.

In conclusion, the dry liver surgery method is not only an outstanding surgical technique but also a reflection of Dr. Tôn Thất Tùng’s intelligence, creativity, and dedication to medicine and patients.