The untold story of the journey to restore form for sports heroes

Injuries can take away a professional athlete's dream, but iron will and modern medicine tell a different story.

At Vinmec, BSCKII Vu Tu Nam and his team have helped hundreds of athletes, from soccer stars to ultra-marathon athletes, regain their form and confidence to continue conquering the peak.

The silent "duels"

In the AFF Cup final in early 2025, key striker Nguyen Xuan Son collapsed on the field with a broken leg. For a normal person, it is a serious injury. But for a top athlete, it could mean the end of his career.

In the moment when fans across the country held their breath, Dr. Vu Tu Nam - Head of the Department of Arthroscopic Surgery & Sports Medicine, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital (Hanoi) - and his team entered the silent "decisive battle", determined to revive the player's career.

The first days after the injury were a series of stressful hours: assessing the injury, developing a surgical plan, and coordinating with multiple disciplines from anesthesia - pain relief, rehabilitation, nutrition to cardiology - respiratory. Each step was associated with a question: can Xuan Son return to the field?

Eight months later, the answer came. The player was able to return to training with a ball. “The pressure was huge, but the happiness of seeing the patient recover and continue to give his all on the field was truly indescribable,” Dr. Nam shared.

If the surgery for Xuan Son was a race against time and the pressure of national achievement, then an ultra-marathon athlete left Dr. Nam with a different impression: resilience that surpasses human limits.

He used to be a familiar face in 200km and 300km races. But after his knee injury, every run beyond 10-15km was torture. “Every step felt like a knife cutting into my knee joint, forcing me to give up my dream,” the athlete shared.

For a normal person, 15km is already an achievement. But for someone who has lived his entire youth on the track, that number means… losing himself.

Understanding that, Dr. Nam developed a treatment plan for joint injections combined with personalized rehabilitation and nutrition instructions. After only 3 weeks, the athlete was able to return to conquer long distances, completing a race of more than 160km.

“Honestly, at first I didn’t think he could return to ultra-marathon so quickly. But with willpower and the right therapy, he overcame his limits. Seeing patients conquer their passion is a great source of motivation for me and the team,” Dr. Nam shared with a proud smile.

Comprehensive treatment model, international standards right in Vietnam

Over the past four years, Dr. Nam has directly performed nearly 1,000 arthroscopic surgeries and thousands of treatment procedures. The difference is not only the technique, but also the comprehensive, personalized treatment model according to international standards that he and his colleagues have built at Vinmec.

Doctor Vu Tu Nam – The man behind the journey of reviving Vietnamese sports heroes.

His experience in Japan, the US, and Singapore has shown him that sports medicine does not stop at surgery, but is a comprehensive care system - from prevention, treatment to recovery. At Vinmec, patients are given individualized treatment and recovery plans, and many specialties work together to optimize results and shorten recovery time.

Thanks to that, many players such as Nguyen Van Toan, Ho Van Y, Le Van Xuan, Thai Thi Thao, Chuong Thi Kieu, Nguyen Thi Van, Nguyen Kim Nhat, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Xuan Son… have returned to the field with their best form. Many other sports enthusiasts have also found their passion again.

Along with the comprehensive treatment model, Dr. Nam also pioneered the development of the "anatomical mapping" technique in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

With this technique, 3D MRI of the healthy knee is used to create an individual “anatomical map” for each patient, becoming the standard for reconstructing the damaged side.

“The body is never perfectly symmetrical, but using the parameters of the healthy side as a reference helps us to restore the injured side as close to its original state as possible,” Dr. Nam explained. “This allows for more precise surgery, faster recovery, and a reduced risk of re-injury – a vital factor for elite athletes.”

The decision to join Vinmec for Dr. Nam was a turning point and also a launching pad in his career. Here, he found an international standard environment to practice surgery, research, teach and access new technology.

“We have full equipment and infection control procedures according to international standards. After nearly 1,000 arthroscopy cases, there has not been a single case of infection,” he affirmed.

From Xuan Son, an ultra-marathon athlete, to thousands of other sports patients, Vinmec not only continues the passion for those who thought their dreams had ended, but also contributes to integrating Vietnamese medicine into the world./ .

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-hanh-trinh-hoi-sinh-phong-do-cho-nhung-nguoi-hung-the-thao-post1064167.vnp