AllMovie

Filmmaker Kier Moreano documents the remarkable experiences of an American ear, nose, and throat surgeon who travels to Vietnam to train clinicians and consult in cases where his training and expertise could prove life-saving in this revealing look at the troubling state of third world medical care. After twenty years of practicing in a Seattle HMO, Dr. Alex Moreano planned to establish his own private medical office in the bustling Pacific Northwestern city. Despite having already purchased thousands of dollars in expensive medical equipment, however, Dr. Moreano instead chose to become a partner in an established practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two years after donating his equipment to a hospital in Hue, Vietnam, Dr. Moreano made the troubling discovery that the valuable medical items were still being held up in customs. When the generous doctor travels to Vietnam to personally intervene and train the staff that will eventually be using the equipment, he is faced with the kind of harsh medical realities rarely experienced by U.S. physicians. Soon, a woman who has been awaiting treatment for a life-threatening tumor and faces almost certain death forces the compassionate caregiver to reevaluate his views on liability versus responsibility as he prepares her for surgery.