In 2005, nearly 98 percent of gallbladder surgeries in Mongolia were performed as open procedures requiring large incisions, extended hospital stays, and lengthy recoveries. For many Mongolians living nomadic lifestyles, spending weeks in a hospital far from home created significant hardships. Open surgeries also carried a greater risk of serious infection. Today, more than 80 percent of gallbladder surgeries in Mongolia are performed laparoscopically using minimally invasive techniques that reduce recovery time, shorten hospital stays, and improve patient outcomes.
According to Dr. Raymond Price, Professor of Global Surgery at the University of Utah and Visiting Professor at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, this transformation is the result of more than two decades of international cooperation, medical education, and long-term partnerships between Mongolian and international healthcare professionals. Speaking at the Scientific Conference Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the First Central Hospital of Mongolia, Dr. Price reflected on the remarkable evolution of surgical care in Mongolia and the relationships that helped make it possible. “For me, the greatest accomplishment has been building friendships and partnerships that created sustainable change,” Dr. Price said. “When people work together with a shared purpose, opportunities continue to grow.”
Dr. Price first came to Mongolia in 2005 to teach trauma care. Initially uncertain about traveling to Mongolia because of its harsh winters, he quickly recognized the determination of Mongolian surgeons to expand access to modern surgical techniques. During his visit, Dr. Sergelen, Chief of Surgery at First Central Hospital No. 1, presented data showing the urgent need to expand laparoscopic surgery in Mongolia. Although laparoscopic procedures had been introduced earlier, access remained limited. “The message was clear,” Dr. Price recalled. “Mongolian surgeons wanted change and wanted to build the capacity themselves.”
Working alongside Mongolian doctors, Dr. Price and his colleagues helped organize training opportunities throughout the country. Public education campaigns, including television appearances and live call-in programs, helped patients better understand minimally invasive surgery and its benefits. Over time, public opinion shifted dramatically. Patients who once distrusted small-incision surgery began requesting laparoscopic procedures. Today, laparoscopic techniques are regularly used in gallbladder, liver, pancreatic, and colon surgeries across Mongolia.
- Dr. Price teaches Mongolians about laparoscopy on a local television talk show.
- Oyunbayar, a 24 year old mother, is able to milk her horses 4 days after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 2011.
- Dr. Price with an 85 year old patient after her successful laparoscopic surgery.
- Dr. Price teaching laparoscopic techniques in Murun, Mongolia with a team from the First Central Hospital of Mongolia.
- The laparoscopic training team in Uvurkhangai in 2011.
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For Dr. Price, however, lasting change required more than introducing new technology. His focus became building sustainable medical education systems that could continue long after international visitors returned home. That vision eventually led to the implementation of the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program in Mongolia, an internationally recognized training course developed by the American College of Surgeons. Supported in part through humanitarian efforts connected with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the program has helped improve trauma evaluation and emergency surgical care across the country. In October 2025, Mongolia reached an important milestone when a Mongolian educator became fully certified to teach the course locally, further strengthening the country’s independent medical training capacity.
- Dr Price offers lessons in the “Train the Trainers” Course in 2009.
- Signing the MOU for ATLS with the Health Development Department in 2014.
- Surgeons from the laparoscopic courses from 2006-2012 (Mongolian Surgical Society).
- Mongolia’s first ATLS course held in June of 2015.
- The First Mongolian Congress of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery, 2015.
- All Mongolian instructors, directors, and coordinators for the May 2018 ATLS course.
- The ATLS Students and Faculty, 2022.
- Dr. Price and Dr. Yoder show laparoscopic instruments to the Mongolian team.
- Dr. Sanchin (Hospital #2), an attending surgeon, teaches his residents how to train on the laparoscopic training boxes.
- Residents at the Health Sciences University of Mongolia learn to do laparoscopic surgery on a training box.
- Mongolia National University of Medical Science (MNUMS) Leadership and the Center for Global Surgery (CGS) Team.
- Dr. Segerlen (Chief of Surgery at Health Science University of Mongolia (HSUM), Dr. Ray Price, Chuck Swanson, TS Lkhagvasuren (President of HSUM), Dr. Nyamkhuu (first Mongolian doctor to do a laparoscopic cholecystectomy).
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Dr. Price’s commitment to humanitarian service began long before his work in Mongolia. As a young volunteer missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Thailand, he witnessed severe poverty and barriers to healthcare that profoundly affected him. In one experience he has often remembered, he and another young missionary helped carry an injured woman to a hospital after others refused to assist her. When hospital workers asked why they would help a stranger they did not know, the experience left a lasting impression on him. “That moment changed the direction of my life,” he said. The experience inspired him to pursue medicine and public health. After studying chemistry as an undergraduate student and volunteering with refugees, he attended Harvard Medical School and completed surgical training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Throughout his career, Dr. Price has focused on expanding access to safe surgery in developing nations and demonstrating the important role surgical care plays in strengthening communities and economies. His work has also extended beyond Mongolia. He served as Vice Chair of the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care and contributed to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, an international effort to evaluate surgical systems worldwide. Mongolia’s own medical professionals, including anesthesiologist Dr. Ganbold, participated in those international discussions.
In recognition of his longstanding contributions to healthcare development and international cooperation in Mongolia, Dr. Price received Mongolia’s Presidential Friendship Medal, the highest state honor bestowed by the Mongolian Government upon foreign citizens, as well as the Medal of Honor from Mongolia’s Minister of Health. These honors acknowledged his decades of collaboration with Mongolian physicians and his efforts to strengthen surgical education, trauma care, and public health partnerships throughout the country.
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Dr. Raymond Price (center) receives Mongolia's Presidential Friendship Medal in 2013. He is pictured with a senior presidential advisor and a representative of the First Central Hospital of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar.2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.On May 18, 2026, Dr. Price was appointed Honorary Consul of Mongolia in the State of Utah, where he continues supporting educational, medical, and economic cooperation between Mongolia and the United States. After more than 20 years working with Mongolian healthcare professionals, Dr. Price believes the most meaningful progress has come through relationships built on mutual respect, shared learning, and a common desire to serve others. “The real success belongs to the Mongolian physicians and educators who continue this work every day,” he said.