At the Vietnam–Sweden Health Partnership Forum at the Vietnamese Embassy in Stockholm, Magnus Becker, Associate Professor and research group leader in plastic surgery at IKVM Malmö, part of the Surgery research group, presented a long-term collaboration between Sweden and Vietnam in the care and research of children with cleft lip and palate (CLP). The collaboration has evolved from individual surgical interventions to a systematic focus on safe pediatric anesthesia, multidisciplinary teams, structured follow-up, and training of local professionals.
We will increase our international impact by being the partner of choice when societal challenges need to be met with innovative solutions.
– From the Faculty of Medicine’s Strategic Intent
“To achieve sustainable results, surgery alone is not enough. Teamwork, registry-based follow-up, and local capacity building are essential,” says Magnus Becker.
The work is strongly anchored in Malmö through collaboration between Lund University’s Faculty of Medicine and Skåne University Hospital. The research group manages the national CLP registry – the first quality registry in plastic surgery in Sweden – and conducts several large national and international registry-based studies. Experiences from international collaboration are integrated into research, student and doctoral training, and the development of clinical practice.
As part of ongoing international efforts, Magnus Becker will undertake a research trip this spring to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Japan together with former doctoral students Mia Stiernman and Måns Cornefjord, focusing on both ongoing and future collaborations.
The collaboration with Vietnam is part of a broader international research environment, with the next step being to link more clinical collaborations to shared registry research and long-term knowledge development.
