Do Tien Hai, head of the Department of Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Microsurgery at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Ho Chi Minh City, provided the medical assistance on Vietnam Airlines flight VN99 from San Francisco to HCMC on Aug. 5.
The American man in his late 20s, seated in the business class cabin, began vomiting food mixed with a significant amount of fresh blood more than an hour into the flight.
"The patient was very panicked at the time, and the scene was quite chaotic because he had just eaten, and he vomited a large amount of food and blood," Hai told VnExpress on Aug. 12.
Hai, who was returning from a month-long professional exchange at Johns Hopkins and Wake Forest hospitals in the U.S., volunteered when the cabin crew announced a request for medical assistance.
When he found out he was the only doctor on board, he immediately approached the distressed passenger. He collaborated with an American nurse, who was also a passenger, to provide treatment.
