To push forward international medical services of Tri-Service General Hospital and Taiwan government’s international medical diplomatic policies, Dr. Chien-Sung, TSAI, Superintendent of TSGH visited Chiba University Hospital from July 7th to 9th　and to Nagoya University Hospital (ranked 6th in Japan and 111th globally of top universities) from July 26th to 27th　this year. Invited by the two university hospitals in Japan, Dr. TSAI provided guidance on artificial heart implantation surgeries to Japanese cardiac surgeons during his stay in Japan. After artificial heart implantation surgical procedures were successfully completed, Dr. TSAI also visited patients receiving surgeries and monitored their recovery conditions and shared with Japanese surgeons his post-surgery care lessons and experiences. The entire surgical guidance procedures were extremely successful and fruitful.

When accepted invitations from the two Japanese university hospitals, Superintendent TSAI stated that TSGH founded Cardiovascular Surgery Division in 1961 and the hospital’s cardiac surgeons successfully performed Taiwan’s first heart transplant surgery in 1988. The patient receiving heart transplant performed by TSGH cardiac surgeon survived more than 10 years after surgery and this very successful surgical operation case has since laid a solid foundation for heart transplant surgical techniques in Taiwan. Orchestrated by Dr. TSAI, cardiac surgical team of TSGH further successfully performed Asia’s first case of heart transplant surgery for a patient diagnosed with dextrocardia situs inversus totalis ( a rare case in which the major organs are inverted and the location of patient’s heart and blood vessels were the opposite of the donors’). One-year survival rates for patients undergoing heart transplant surgeries in TSGH stood as high as 89.5%. Under leadership of Dr. TSAI, TSGH has so far successfully performed close to 200 cases of heart transplant surgical operations with remarkable case survival rate and clinical outcomes.

At the present, there are close to 23 million patients worldwide who suffer from heart failure conditions and complications. As such, TSGH will continue to enhance heart transplant surgical techniques and best practices to benefit patients in terminal stage of heart failure and to improve healthcare quality for all kinds of patients seeking healthcare in TSGH. With the prior mentioned professional exchange and surgical guidance tours to Japan, TSGH also aims to broaden and deepen medical cooperation between Japan and Taiwan and in turn expand TSGH’s global footprint in international medicine diplomacy. TSGH further aspires to build a singular brand name of high quality international medical services via enhancing its international medical services with soft power and high quality care.