ដើម្បីអានជាភាសាខ្មែរ សូមចុច នៅទីនេះ
In a story of collaboration and dedication, a new chapter in advanced medical care is being written in Cambodia. From August 9 to 22, 2025, the Cambodia-Japan Friendship Mongkul Borey Provincial Hospital (MBPH) became the third site for a basic surgical training program, bringing modern, life-saving laparoscopic surgery to the Banteay Meanchey province.
The project was a joint effort by the University of Utah’s Center for Global Surgery (CGS), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Cambodian Ministry of Health, and Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh.
Through its Cambodia Health Improvement Effort, the Church has supported many transformational healthcare projects all across Cambodia, reflecting a deep commitment to improve the health and lives of Cambodian citizens.
The training at MBPH is the third Basic Laparoscopic Expansion Course taught in the country, following sessions at Kampong Cham Provincial Hospital and Battambang Provincial Hospital. The Church and CGS earlier supported advanced training at Calmette Hospital and helped establish a laparoscopic skills training center there.
The hospital in Mongkul Borey is a critical healthcare hub, serving nearly 900,000 local people in Banteay Meanchey province near the Thai border. Until now, open surgery requiring large incisions was the only option for patients needing surgery on internal organs, leading to long hospital stays and slow recoveries.
But laparoscopic surgery is a game-changer. Surgeons use high-tech imaging and surgical tools to perform complex surgery through small incisions. The procedures are safer and patients heal faster so they can return to work and support their families much sooner. Incidence of infection is very low and hospital beds are freed up more quickly for other patients.
Dr. Raymond Price, director of the CGS team, said he felt a strong spiritual impression that Mongkul Borey was ready for this specialized training. MBPH administrators, doctors, staff and senior humanitarian missionaries from the Church worked very hard to prepare the hospital for the laparoscopic training.
With help from the Church’s donated funds, they also expanded anesthesia capacity, improved infrastructure and added many resources. Additions included a new generator system to ensure stable electricity, renovated operating rooms, new fully equipped surgical beds, sterilization equipment, and laparoscopic towers and instruments.
By the time the training team arrived from the United States in August 2025, Mongkul Borey had transformed itself into a hospital prepared to learn laparoscopic surgery.
On the first day of training, 42 participants attended lecture sessions, including surgeons, anesthesia providers, scrub nurses, operating room technicians, on-site interpreters, and government and healthcare administrators.
The two-week course included simulations, one-on-one training, and hands-on surgery. Doctors and nurses learned everything necessary for success, including operating room setup, troubleshooting problems, anesthesia considerations, instrument use, and pre- and post-operative procedures. Participants received training in the safe use, maintenance and sustainability of equipment.
The impact was immediate and impressive. Over the two weeks, the team successfully performed 34 gallbladder surgeries and one appendectomy on patients from Banteay Meanchey province and surrounding areas.
Another huge milestone was the completion of five surgeries in a single day for the first time in the history of these training programs. The average patient stayed in the hospital just overnight, a dramatic improvement over the long recoveries usually required for open surgery.
By the end of the two weeks, two Mongkul Borey surgeons were performing laparoscopic surgery independently and confidently. One of them, Dr. Phat Phalleak shared his excitement, “I received more laparoscopic experience in these two weeks than I did in two years of surgical training in France,” he said.
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The surgical training room is very busy in Mongkul Borey Provincial Hospital as a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses and technicians teach and learn laparoscopic surgery techniques during training August 9-22.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The hands-on, team-based approach made all the difference, building confidence and skills across the entire operating room. Two international surgeons were paired directly with the two local surgeons, providing constant oversight, immediate feedback and progressive skills transfer.
Patients were very appreciative. Bo Khema, 43, had lived with severe abdominal pain for more than three years. The discomfort was constant, disrupting her ability to work and limiting her daily activities. She had received treatment but had found no lasting relief.
When she heard about the opportunity for limited-invasive gallbladder surgery to fix her chronic pain, she waited at the hospital every day for an entire month to ensure she got on the patient list.
On August 12 she underwent laparoscopic surgery and was discharged the very next day with a big smile and profuse gratitude. Three days later she was working around her home without pain. The surgery restored her independence, renewed her hope and allowed her to reclaim the rhythm of everyday life.
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Bo Khema enthusiastically thanks her surgical team as she prepares to go home one day after her laparoscopic surgery. © 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The broad training approach produced ripple effects across the hospital. Improvements in sterilization, anesthesia safety, postoperative management, scheduling, and operating room efficiency directly benefited patients undergoing all types of surgery, not just laparoscopy. The program strengthened systems that will continue to elevate the quality of care in all departments of the hospital.
The training also had another major benefit. The Church's donation of a new C-arm, a piece of imaging equipment used in laparoscopy surgery, is also helping surgeons with other types of surgeries, including complex orthopedic cases like those from motor vehicle accidents where bones are shattered.
Among the surgical patients was Phorn Yann, 58, a shopkeeper from Mongkul Borey. For two years she had used pain relievers to reduce her severe epigastric pain, but over time the pain became too much to control. She learned about laparoscopic surgery from her son, a surgical technician at the hospital.
Her surgery became a family affair. Not only was she saved from having to travel to a distant city, but her own son scrubbed into the operation, assisting the team in her case and others. The experience provided Phorn Yann not only personal healing, but the pride of seeing her son contributing directly to her care. Within a few days she was back running her shop, caring for her grandchildren, and supporting her husband, a rice farmer.
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Phorn Yann was back running her small shop in Mongkul Borey just days after laparoscopic surgery assisted by her son as a surgical technician.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Thorn Sothea, 45, an assistant pastor from Mongkul Borey, divides his time serving his local Christian church and making a living driving a tuk tuk (local small three-wheeled taxi). Several months ago, Thorn began experiencing sharp abdominal pain. Driving his tuk tuk became almost unbearable. He had to reduce work hours, leaving his family with fewer resources.
His surgery was performed without complication and the relief was immediate. For the first time in months he was free from debilitating pain. He was astonished at how quickly the pain had vanished. He was up and moving the next day, even dancing in celebration.
Thorn expressed his gratitude to the Cambodian surgical team, the visiting doctors, the Center for Global Surgery, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for making the treatment available in his community. He also gave thanks to God, whom he credits for providing the opportunity and blessing of healing.
Thousands more patients will be able to tell similar stories in coming years thanks to the collaboration between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the University of Utah Center for Global Surgery, Calmette Hospital, and the Cambodian government. Three additional laparoscopic surgery centers are now operating in Cambodia, with more to come in future years.
In addition to the training team from the University of Utah’s Center for Global Surgery, four doctors from Calmette Hospital with extensive experience in laparoscopic surgery assisted in training the doctors at MBPH.
In all, the training at MBPH and a shorter refresher session at Battambang Provincial Hospital involved more than 80 people, improving the skills of 17 surgeons, 19 anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists, plus hospital administrators and other healthcare professionals.