Pan Silin (right), Party secretary at Women and Children's Hospital of Qingdao University, and Chen Rui (second from right), director of the hospital's heart center, make a ward round for pediatric patients from Tajikistan on Mar 15. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Three children underwent interventional procedures, a nonsurgical approach using a catheter to repair damaged vessels. "For a 6-year-old girl, a team led by the hospital's Party secretary and renowned cardiologist Pan Silin, completed the procedure in just 13 minutes," Chen said.

Among the surgical cases, Chen highlighted a minimally invasive technique that repairs defects through an incision as small as 1.2 centimeters under the right armpit.

"A cardiac surgeon from Tajikistan who accompanied the children was amazed by the technique and its results," Chen said. "He expressed a strong desire for deeper, long-term cooperation in the future."

In case of one child, Chinese doctors discovered a large cyst in the liver, caused by a zoonotic parasitic infection called echinococcosis, during preoperative exams.

"We decided to address the cyst first to ensure the child's safety," said Zhang Jian, a senior surgeon at the hospital. "The operation went smoothly — we achieved a clean resection while preserving as much liver function as possible. The child is expected to return for cardiac surgery in six months."

According to the hospital, the initiative stemmed from the sister-city relationship between Qingdao and Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, as well as from broader healthcare cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Hospital officials attributed the program's success to multidisciplinary preparation, individualized treatment plans and advanced expertise of Chinese doctors.

Wang Yanyan, head nurse of the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit, said the nursing staff prepared by learning basic Tajik phrases, including words for "eat", "drink", "I want to sit up" and "urinate", as well as simple phrases of encouragements such as "you're doing great".

"We also played cartoons to help the children feel at ease," she said. "Parents were allowed to visit the CICU for about half an hour each day."