Vietnamese doctor treats American passenger vomiting blood on San Francisco-HCMC flight
A Vietnamese doctor traveling from the United States to Ho Chi Minh City successfully treated an American passenger who suddenly vomited a large amount of fresh blood, stabilizing the man so the flight could continue its journey.
Do Tien Hai, a Vietnamese maxillofacial surgeon, treated an American man on a Vietnam Airlines flight from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City after he began vomiting blood. The man, in his late 20s, experienced severe nosebleeds that caused blood to flow into his mouth, leading to nausea and vomiting. Hai, who had recently returned from a professional exchange at Johns Hopkins and Wake Forest hospitals in the U.S., was the only doctor on board the aircraft.
He collaborated with an American nurse to provide treatment and identified the cause of the bleeding as a rupture of blood vessels in Kiesselbach's area, a region with many small blood vessels. The flight crew monitored the patient's vital signs and applied cold compresses to help stop the bleeding. After about 30 minutes, the bleeding ceased, and the patient's condition stabilized.
The flight crew decided not to divert the plane back to San Francisco, and the passenger was allowed to disembark and return to the airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Hai advised travelers to apply pressure to the nose and use cold compresses if they experience sudden nosebleeds while flying, as changes in cabin pressure can exacerbate bleeding in the nose.
Written by urgent.news from VnExpress International's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
