Dr. Huong Catgut Embedding Therapy
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nly recently did Dr. Huong see many Vietnamese patients come to her clinic, which is tucked away in a small, busy alley — Ngo Nui Truc. Open since 2002 at her home, most of her clients were expatriates living in Vietnam — they were coming for catgut embedding therapy, a treatment with roots in China and Vietnam. Most people heard about her work through word of mouth. “Westerners generally have a better starting point as their energy or qi is stronger — they adapt to the therapy very well,” she says. Catgut embedding originates from a traditional Chinese therapy where surgical chromic catgut, a type of cord made from natural fibre, is sutured into the tissues under the acupuncture points with a specialised needle. According to Dr. Huong, the process works the same as in acupuncture, as the area surrounding the embedded point and paralysed body parts are stimulated. The body creates more endorphins, which help boost the immune system. “But in catgut embedding, the effectiveness lasts for longer than in acupuncture,” she explains. “The patients only need treatment one to three times every
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15 days or month instead of having to come to the clinic every day as with traditional acupuncture.” For Vietnamese patients, Dr. Huong often uses traditional medicine or natural supplements to boost their energy levels before the treatment. Diseases that she has successfully treated include asthma, abdominal and lower back pain, leg pain, insomnia and eye, nose and throat infections. Originally trained in mainstream paediatrics, she spent four years studying in France before she discovered her interest in traditional medicine. In the late 1990s, she met Dr. Le Thuy Oanh, the founder of a new approach to catgut embedding, a treatment that had been successful in Hungary. Since 2000, she has practised this therapy. Between 2000 and 2002, she cured about 300 patients at the National Hospital of Traditional Medicine. She then decided to open her own clinic in her home. “It’s amazing to not to have to use medicine, and yet be able to cure people,” she says. It is for this reason that she has stuck with catgut embedding for such a long time and maintains a strong belief in its virtues. Dr. Huong’s clinic is at 82 Ngo Nui Truc, Ba Dinh