Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital began a training course on laparoscopic surgery for nearly 150 physicians in the Asian countries Mar 10, the Vietnam News Agency said Mar. 12. The physicians are from the countries that have advanced health systems, including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Pakistan and the Philippines. The training course is aimed to help foreign doctors study the surgical skills to treat digestive diseases, the newspaper added. Since 2003, the hospital has offered laparoscopic surgeries for nearly 1,000 patients, of whom 800 people had problems of large intestine and rectum, 100 people had gullet disorders and 60 people suffered from gastric cancer. The hospital has to date provide training courses on laparoscopic surgery with advanced technology for more than 400 domestic surgeons and 100 foreign doctors. In 2010, the Southeast Asian country expects to spend VND50 trillion ($2.62 billion) or 8.6% of the total state budget for the health sector.
