A session was held Friday in Binh Phuoc province to test the controversial healing power of an Oriental doctor who is hailed as able to cure terminal diseases just by acupressure.
Yen (L, white) performing acupressure on the patient Photo: Nguoi Lao Dong
At the session held by the provincial Union of Science and Technology Association, 36-year-old traditional herbalist Vo Hoang Yen, from Ca Mau province, performed treatment on 5 patients in front of scientists, experts and mainstream doctors.
There, Yen’s acupressure succeeded in helping a 65-year-old cerebrovascular patient stand up by her own and to walk to and fro without her usual stick.
But his treatment resulted in “dubious effects” on the other four patients, scientists attending the session said.
However, Prof. Hoang Bao Chau, former head of the Vietnam Institute of Traditional Medicine, admitted that Yen’s methods have yielded an immediate effect on patients suffering from stroke and deafness.
“In terms of modern medical science, this is a form of rehabilitation,” he said. “But we cannot make any conclusion on its effects in the longer term.”
Doctor Quach Ai Duc, deputy director of the provincial Department of Health, said the health department would continue to test Yen’s methods to see if they have long-term effectiveness.
Vo Hoang Yen is said to have learned traditional herbalist from a renowned herbalist when he stayed at Ca Mau-based Hung Nghia Pagoda.
Yen has spent many years researching on the acupressure treatment methods, and claims to have “perfected the method to save people 3 years ago.”
He has been traveling across the country to offer free treatment to the poor, which has given him the nickname of “than y” or deity doctor.
He is believed to be capable of curing people from deafness, polio and degenerative spine by acupressure.