How smooth operators save lives

The Israeli and Chinese surgeons who operated for several hours on 5-year-old Yang Bin's heart were not only closing a hole between the left and right ventricles. They were also strengthening a bridge between their two countries.

This month was not the first time Hebrew could be heard at the Hebei Children's Hospital in Shijiazhuang. It was the eighth trip to China by the Israel-based charity Save a Child's Heart (SACH).

The SACH medics are from the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, where Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Hebei Children's Hospital Dr Wang Jianming studied in 2000. Five other Chinese doctors and eight nurses have also worked there.