▲ The Asan Medical Center medical volunteer team recently carried out a medical mission in Kyrgyzstan.

The photo shows the AMC volunteer team posing for a commemorative photo.

From June 16 to 18, Asan Medical Center conducted a medical volunteer program at the DOC University Hospital, affiliated with Salymbekov Medical University in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. This marks the 56th overseas medical mission since expanding volunteer activities abroad in 2009, and the third visit to Kyrgyzstan since the first trip in 2023. Kyrgyzstan currently lacks private hospitals that provide tertiary-level care, and its national general hospitals are hindered by outdated facilities and medical equipment, making it difficult for patients to receive appropriate treatment.

The volunteer team included 10 physicians such as Professors Ho-Seok Sa from the Department of Ophthalmology, Hyouk-Soo Kwon of the Division of Allergy, and Sei Won Lee of the Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine at Asan Medical Center—along with 21 nurses, 2 pharmacists, 4 public health workers, and 2 administrative staff, totaling 39 participants. Over the course of three days, the team treated more than 720 local patients and performed the following procedures, including 33 cataract surgeries, 8 pterygium excisions, 8 YAG laser capsulotomies for secondary cataracts, 2 ptosis correction surgeries, 2 eyelid lesion excisions, 2 benign tumor excisions, and 9 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies.

In addition to patient care, the volunteer team shared advanced medical knowledge with local professionals. They demonstrated complex diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy techniques using simulators and delivered lectures on interventional procedures in critical care medicine. Local medical staff observed the consultations, surgeries, and procedures firsthand, gaining valuable experience in high-level clinical techniques. Yu Jin Jang, a nurse from the Cancer Institute Nursing Team II at Asan Medical Center, said, “It was rewarding to help patients in urgent need of treatment. I want to continue participating in medical volunteer work and practicing the spirit of sharing.”

Meanwhile, medical staff from the Department of Plastic Surgery at Asan Medical Center have been in Kyrgyzstan for one week starting on June 29 as part of the “Asan in Asia” project, which supports countries in Asia with limited medical resources. Over the course of a week, they have been providing training in wound care and microsurgical skills.