Dung Q. Pham is a Houston-based urologist specializing in pediatric and adult genitourinary reconstruction and is involved with philanthropy through his ODR Pediatric Urologic Foundation (501c) as well as collaboration with other non-profit organizations such as Katy Angels.[19] The common mission is to help underserved children.[1] He is board-certified in Urology and is also boarded in the sub-specialty of Pediatric Urology.[20] He is a member of both the American Urological Association and the Society of Pediatric Urology.[21] He is known for his expertise in surgical correction of genitourinary reconstruction and chromosomal disorders. He is the only surgeon in the state of Texas who consistently performs genitourinary reconstruction on children and adults and has an area of focus in botched genitourinary surgeries. He is the founder of Crescent Urology Institute, PLLC.[2] Pham is a proponent of patient-centered care, utilizing advanced technologies to enhance surgical outcomes. He has over 19 years of experience and is affiliated with Memorial Hermann Health System and HCA Health Care System as well as past affiliations with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, and UT Health.[4][7][8] He is also the founder and CEO of Crescent Technology, LLC, ODR Medical Consulting, LLC, Crescent Medical Billing, LLC, ODR Investments, LLC, and ODR Pediatric Urologic Foundation (501c).[22][23]

Early life and education

Dung Quoc Pham was born in Saigon, Vietnam, on October 16, 1978. He immigrated to the United States after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.[18] His parents, Trung Nguyen and Huynh Pham became U.S. citizens in 1987 in Oklahoma City, adopting the names Mary Nguyen Pham and Joe Pham. Since Dung and his siblings were under 18, they also became U.S. citizens. Dung does not have citizenship from Vietnam.

Dung has five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. After the end of the Vietnam War, his father and three older siblings fled Vietnam by boat in 1979, escaping persecution from the North Vietnamese Army. They traveled through Malaysia and the Philippines before being sponsored by a Baptist church in South Carolina. Dung’s father and siblings then moved to Oklahoma City in 1981, joining the sizeable Vietnamese refugee community in the Asian District. The decision to move was because, the fall of Saigon in 1975, many Vietnamese refugees were relocated to the Central Park neighborhood in Oklahoma City. This was run by many different Catholic charities. Vietnamese refugees eventually built their own community known as “Little Saigon” which later became known as Oklahoma City's Asian District. After many decades, the enemies and Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant family population continued to grow and now owns more than half of the businesses in the district.[10] It is estimated that about 2 million Vietnamese “Boat People” fled the country by boat, to escape communism, and about 500,000 perished at sea due to unworthy sea boats or simply they disappeared.[9] 

Dung’s mother, younger sister, aunt, and cousin also traveled by boat in 1980. They spent time in Malaysia and the Philippines before reuniting with the family in Oklahoma City. The family paid several ounces of gold per person to escape, and those who couldn’t flee Vietnam were sent to re-education camps.

Pham’s father only graduated high school, and his mother completed up to sixth grade. Despite their limited formal education, they worked hard to build a stable life for their family in the U.S. Dung’s father worked as a butcher and attended trade school, while his mother learned English and worked as a cleaning maid and waitress. His parents worked hard because they knew the value of an education. Dung started his education in kindergarten in the public school system. However his parents wanted him to have a Catholic school upbringing, and so he enrolled at Bishop John Carroll Cathedral School from kindergarten through third grade (bjccs.org). After the third grade, Dung’s parents saved up enough money and moved to Fort Worth to answer the convenience store business. Dung was enrolled at St. George Catholic School and attended fourth through sixth grade.[11] Due to the expenses of a private school, Dung and his family lived in a storage room behind the convenience store until he graduated from St. George Catholic School. 

His parents were able to save up enough money to rent a small house in Haltom City. He then enrolled at Nolan Catholic Junior High[12] and finished seventh grade. His family then moved to Arlington, Texas, and he was enrolled at Boles Junior High.[13] This is the first time Dung has ever attended a public school and found it hard to adapt due to the different teaching methods as well as bullying. After completing the eighth grade at Boles Junior High School, Dung asked his parents if he could start and finish high school at Nolan Catholic School. With the help of Christ the King Parish’s (Christ the King Parish) scholarship for students who want to pursue a Catholic education, Dung was able to enroll and finished his High School training at Nolan Catholic High School (2004-2008).

Dung did not find much interest in any classes except for his computer class in his science class. He loves to read anatomy and physiology books as well as basic computer coding. During the summer of 1997, he enrolled at The University of Texas at Arlington[14] and took anatomy and physiology part one as well as calculus part one. He did well and earned an A in both classes as well as college credits. After he graduated high school in the spring of 1998, he took chemistry part one, physics part one, and basic biology during the summer of 1998. He did well and got all A's in those classes. He declared his major as Biology. Due to costs, he also took classes at Tarrant County Community College[15] simultaneously while he was taking his core classes for his biology degree at The University of Texas at Arlington. He took his medical College admission test[16] in his sophomore year. He graduated college in three years with magna cum laude. He was then accepted and started medical school at McGovern Medical School in 2001.[17] That was the same year that tropical storm Allison had wreaked havoc at the Texas Medical Center.   

Dung completed a residency in General Urology followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Urology at Texas Children’s Hospital.[3][8] He is fluent in English, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish.[4]

Career

In 2013, there was only one academic pediatric urology program in Houston and the surrounding area.  Pham was highly sought after to build a second pediatric urology program for the Memorial Hermann Hospital system in conjunction with the University of Texas at Houston Medical School division of urology. After completing his pediatric urology fellowship, Pham accepted the position and began his professional career at Memorial Hermann Medical Group, joining the Vanguard Urologic Institute.[3][4] He was skilled with robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery with the DaVinci robot surgical platform, laparoscopic surgery, endoscopic surgery, microscopic surgery, and open surgery. Pham was the first pediatric urologic surgeon in Texas to perform a 3-D laparoscopic ureteral re-implant utilizing the Olympus 3-D laparoscopic surgical platform. He was also the first pediatric urologic surgeon to successfully perform a multitude of pediatric urologic surgeries utilizing the DaVinci robotic surgical platform. He also trained urology residents during his time at Vanguard Urologic Institute. Pham was also the first pediatric urologist to re-attach a toddler’s penis that was completely severed in Houston and the surrounding area.[24] 

During his time there, he developed and led the Pediatric Urology Program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, ultimately serving as Chief of Pediatric Urology. He was also a pediatric urology clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston.[7][8]  

In 2019, Pham departed Vanguard Urologic Institute and founded Crescent Urology Institute, PLLC, to deliver specialized pediatric and adult urologic care outside the constraints of larger institutions. He, along with his other 2 founding partners, Dr. Peter Hinh and Dr. Bryan Pham, started the first private practice in Houston that offered the full spectrum of urologic care to children and adults, under one roof. Crescent Urology Institute focuses on personalized care and innovative techniques, including 3-D modeling, laparoscopic surgery, and the da Vinci robotic system. Pham is the only pediatric urologist in Houston who routinely uses spinal blocks for surgeries on infants, reducing the need for general anesthesia.[1][3] 

Pham’s surgical expertise spans a wide range of urologic conditions, but he has a particular focus on penile and genital reconstruction. He has performed thousands of surgeries in this area, strongly emphasizing achieving excellent cosmetic and functional outcomes. Pham has performed over 10,000 nursery circumcisions.[2][3] Because of his expertise in building programs, clinics from the ground up, and knowledge about genital urinary reconstruction, he also owns and operates ODR Medical Consulting. The company’s focus is to help physicians’ transitions into their own private practice by offering buildouts, management, day-to-day operations, marketing, human resources, marketing and billing all under one roof. This will allow physicians to focus on taking care of patients. Pham also case reviews, expert witness services for litigation, deposition, and trial if needed.  

Pham also partnered up with a machine learning and AI company to create a 2 surgical platform using the Apple Vision Pro and the Viture smart glasses platform. This will lower the costs of laparoscopic and endoscopic equipment. With a much smaller platform and lower costs, laparoscopic and endoscopic will save healthcare dollars as well as making it more accessible in Third World countries. The Apple Vision Pro will also allow better magnification and multiple windows with information (Radiographic images overlay on the anatomy, real time vital sign monitoring, etc.) all within fingers reach of the surgeon. This is done using Apple Vision Pro’s platform with proprietary coding. 

Outside his clinical work, Pham founded the ODR Children’s Urology Foundation, which provides care for children in underserved areas who require financial assistance for urologic surgeries. He is also involved in public education through a podcast that discusses ordinary men's health issues in straightforward, accessible language.[2] 

Pham is a dedicated advocate for men's health education through his podcast, D-Talk. As the host, he breaks down ordinary men's health issues like bladder concerns and bedroom blues in an approachable and easy-to-understand format. With a focus on real talk and practical advice, Pham aims to make men's health simpler and more accessible. On D-Talk, listeners can expect a blend of stories, chats, and tips to help them confidently navigate their health, addressing concerns that often go unspoken.[5][6] 

References

• Linkedin-Dung Pham
• ODR Childrens Foundation.
• Crescent Urology Institute
• Vitals
• Listen Notes
• Buzz Sprout
• Top NPI
• Health Care 6
• The Resettlement of Vietnamese and Montagnard Refugees Residing in Thailand
• Oklahomans and the Vietnam War
• St. George Catholic School
• Nolan Catholic Junior High
• Boles Junior High
• University of Texas at Arlington
• Tarrant County Community College
• Register for the MCAT® Exam
• McGovern Medical School
• “Still I Rise”
• Katy Angels
• Texas Medical Board
• The Societies for Pediatric Urology
• Texas Secretary of State
• ODR Pediatric Urologic Foundation
• Mom accused of stabbing, mutilating 4-year-old son faces judge