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Son La Province Surgery Week 2026

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Son La surgery week, one more province in the books. Son La Province is the largest province in Northern Vietnam located in the North East on the border with Laos. San La is 300 kilometers northeast from the Capital Hanoi. The region is very mountainous and culturally diverse. During the week we performed 187 life changing surgeries in 4 days. One of our surgeons took a photo opportunity during surgery. This is a photo of one of the local Son La local surgeons learning from two of our specialists from Hanoi Medical University. Here are a couple of before and after photos of children who received Ptosis surgery. Ptosis is the medical term for dropping or falling of the upper eyelid. It occurs when the muscle responsible for lifting the eyelid (the levator) is weak. These photos are the day after surgery. The children recover quickly and will have a minor scare for a few weeks from where the levator muscle was repaired and attached. After the procedure the success rat...
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Special Report: 10 yr Anniversary 2026

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People often ask about my connection and passion for Vietnam. Well it all started 10 years ago. My employer GlaxoSmithKline GSK (Global pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer) had a program to give back to communities around the world, PULSE. Under the PULSE program GSK would partner with NGO's around the world to help them accomplish their goals by providing leadership volunteers for a period of 6 months. 10 years ago, 2016 I was selected to participate in the PULSE program and my assignment was to support the Bill and Hillary Clinton Foundation in Hanoi Vietnam. 6 months away from my responsibilities at GSK is a long time. So none of this would be possible without the support of my manager Julie Wade. I will forever be thankful to Julie for supporting my dream to give back. My experience of working and living in Vietnam was life changing in so many ways. I never had a Passport or traveled internationally.before embarking on moving to Vietnam. My goal was to fu...
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Tuyen Quang Province Surgery Week 2026

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Tuyen Quang Province, another successful surgery week in the books. Tuyen Quang province is located approx 100 miles north of the capital Hanoi on the border of China. Tuyen Quang Province is part of our 2026 expansion plan. As an underserved community there were many patients who needed our help. The hospital facility was very old with limited operating room capacity. To meet the patient demand we were forced to send many children to Hanoi to have surgery at the larger teaching hospitals. This issue will soon be resolved as the province is opening a brand new hospital in 6 months. Pinky Promise- In Vietnam this is the ultimate gesture. The locked fingers represent a bond of trust and mutual agreement that the promise will be kept. Dr. Dao, Director of the Provincial hospital asked for my commitment that Team USA and Center Two would continue to support the poor families and children of his community in the future. Commitment granted and Pinky Promise made. Team USA...
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Lai Chau Province Surgery Week 2026

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Well another successful surgery week is in the books. Now that we have 4 complete weeks of surgery behind us we are seeing a significant increase in the numbers of children needing surgery. For example: Historically in Lai Chau province we perform approx 70-80 surgeries per week. This week we performed 178 surgeries in 4 days. Tuesday was the busiest day, our team performed 60 surgeries. We attribute this increase to the effectiveness of our new screening model where the local communities are more involved with identifying children in their communities. Also, a reality check of the growing need for our services and the positive impact we are having on the community. Highlights for me this week was being reunited with several families from last year. Warms my heart to see the transformation in the children and to receive so many words of appreciation from the parents. Example: We performed bilateral Cleft Lip Repair on this boy in 2025. Also, notable for Lai Chau Pr...
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Dien Bien Province Surgery Week 2026

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We just completed surgery week in Dien Bien province and provided surgeries for over 200 children. Dien Bien Province is in the mountains in the far northwest of Vietnam on the border with Laos. I want to start this post off on a funny note. Most people here in Vietnam have a hard time pronouncing my name "Bob". They call me "Bop". I had to laugh when during the opening ceremony they had a seat assigned for me and the sign said Mr. Bop McGarry. During the ceremony Dr. Houng, Director of Plastic Surgery at St. Paul Hospital said "Bop is like Santa Clause for the children of Vietnam". I thanked him and said I am blessed to get to play Santa Clause because of the hundreds of helpers I have in the US who provide the gifts for the children. The most touching moment of the week for me was being reunited with several families and children that we helped last year and the warm welcomes from the hospital and operating room staff "Bop it's...
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Life in the village 2026

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A lighter post to give you a sense of the beauty of life in the villages. We had Saturday off between our travels from Yen Bai to Lao Cai provinces. So, I did a quick visit to my friend's in Ta Van village which is in the mountains outside of Sapa. Upon arrival I had a special lunch with the family and the local Shama. A Sharma is a special individual from the village who acts as an intermediary between the human world and the spiritual realm. They are believed to possess psychic abilities to communicate with spirits, often performing rituals for healing or good fortune. Photo of me with the Ta Van village Shama. It was the annual rice planting season a few weeks ago in Ta Van. The rice fields are lush and green. Everywhere you look, there are hillsides, valleys and beautiful green rice terraces. More photos in the Google Photo link below. Ta Van & Ta Phin Villages During my visit to Ta Van village I received an invitation to go to Ta Phin village. A young ...
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My first month here in Vietnam has gone fast. It's been a month packed with travel, training and a little fun. In 4 short weeks I have traveled to more provinces in Vietnam than most Vietnamese will see in a lifetime. As I mentioned in my previous post, our focus has been on training the local medical staff in the local provinces to identify candidates in their communities who would benefit from our program and to follow-up with children we did surgery on last year to ensure positive outcomes for the patients. The first few weeks our training was focused on Northern Vietnam.image.png: 8 provinces approx 150 miles (6-8 hours travel time) North of Hanoi. Most on the border with China or Laos. The past week our travels took us to Central Vietnam image.png 5 provinces South of Hanoi down to Quang Tri province. Quang Tri province is approx 375 miles south of Hanoi. DMZ: Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces play a key role in Vietnam's history. This was the dividing l...
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