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As a result of the Cambodian genocide, only 40 doctors remained in the country. The medical field was all but completely destroyed, and in the rush to rebuild it, medical qualifications were hastily awarded to inexperienced medical students. Malpractice was common and it has taken a long time to regain trust and heal the medical industry of Cambodia, a process that is still ongoing today. People often hesitate to visit the hospital for surgery because of a lack of trust, money or the reality that the surgery they need isn’t available. As a result, Cambodians regularly die of diseases that would be treatable by advanced medical care, or face complications when seeking surgery in the advanced stages of illness.

The “heart” of Japan Heart Cambodia is the surgeries provided at our hospital. Japan Heart started with a Japanese surgeon coming to places that are outside the reach of medical care. That origin continues today with surgical teams and specialists from top medical universities in Japan regularly visiting the Japan Heart Children’s Medical Center to provide free surgeries that no other hospital in Cambodia can. These experts specialize in fields such as breast surgery, ENT and OBGYN. In 2019, Japan Heart Cambodia did more than 1100 surgeries for adults and 280 for children and this number is rising annually. Japan Heart specializes in abdominal cavity surgeries and many of our adult patients visit us to have tumors, hernias and hydrocele surgically treated. Additionally, our hospital has the capability to perform caesarean sections. Pediatric surgical patients are primarily oncology ward inpatients or receiving treatment for congenital defects and other life-threatening condition.

Our hospital’s local staff are integral components of all stages of the surgical process and have the opportunity to develop their skills with some of the best surgeons in the world. Many of the staff who started with Japan Heart Children’s Medical Center as graduates are now leaders in their departments and are helping to strengthen the next generation of Cambodian medical practitioners. The best and brightest nurses and doctors at Japan Heart, have had the opportunity to take part in overseas surgical missions or study in Laos and Japan. We envision Japan Heart as a beacon of human resource development, with the ultimate goal of local doctors running the hospital by 2030.