Current status in gastrointestinal endoscopy in Vietnam

The development of GI endoscopy in Vietnam has a long history, but it has grown very slowly due to the shortage of equipment and GI endoscopists. The flexible endoscopy procedures were first performed in Vietnam in the 1970s in some big hospitals in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. GI endoscopy only became a routine procedure in the 1990s. Nowadays, many GI endoscopy procedures are conducted in Vietnam, both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Vietnamese Federation for Digestive Endoscopy (VFDE) was established in 2011 and there are now more than 2,000 endoscopists in Vietnam. Our society's aims are to dedicate ourselves to advancing patient care and the development of GI endoscopy in Vietnam; to promote higher standards for endoscopic training and practice; and to collaborate with international societies for endoscopy education and research.

During the past 15 years, with the support and collaboration of many endoscopy organizations and societies such as Asian-Pacific Society for Digestive Endoscopy (APSDE), Asian EUS Group (AEG), Asian Novel Bio-Imaging and Intervention Group (ANBI2G), Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES)..., there have been many hands-on training courses which have been organized in Vietnam for training in ERCP, EUS, and diagnosis and treatment of early cancer lesions in the GI tract. These were great chances for Vietnamese doctors to learn many new techniques in GI endoscopy.

ERCP was first performed in 1993. Currently, there are more than 15,000 cases of ERCP per year. EUS has been widely used since 2012, and there are about 30 EUS systems in Vietnam now, mainly used for diagnostic procedures. Interventional EUS is only done in a few hospitals and is a promising procedure in the near future. Nowadays, endoscopic diagnosis and treatment is the method of choice for patients with early GI cancer.

Currently, endoscopy is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tract, pancreato-biliary diseases in Vietnam. Many endoscopic techniques have been performed in many hospitals across the country, such as endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of early gastrointestinal cancers, the use of ERCP and EUS in diagnosis and treatment of pancreato-biliary diseases.

VFDE is a young society and would like to collaborate with all societies/organizations worldwide to increase both the quality and number of GI endoscopists, covering both basic and advanced endoscopy for the development of GI endoscopy.