Passion is everything

In the Broadway play Amadeus, Salieri, the court composer, realizing young Mozart’s genius when he hears his music for the first time, contemplates his own mediocre gifts by comparison and confides to the audience, "Is it enough just to have passion?" I saw the play decades ago with my late husband and have never forgotten the unmistakable strength of the answer. No one will be able to argue against the message the play delivers.

But the effect on me was more pronounced when, a couple of years after, I read famous playwright Neil Simon’s words quoted in a New York paper. He said that his daughter saw the play and was quite affected by it. Simon wrote of how she talked to him about her own aspirations, questioned her own abilities and talent, and asked him the very same question: "Is it enough, Father, to have passion?" Simon’s answer was, "It’s not only enough. It’s everything."

And when you listen to the words of a person like Oprah Winfrey, who has risen from the tragedy of her childhood to the extraordinary heights of success and fulfillment she now enjoys, Neil Simon’s answer becomes even more credible. Winfrey now writes: "The trick to life is simple. Live it with passion."

These truths help describe the professional fulfillment of a medical practitioner, Dr. Rafael Bundoc, orthopedic surgeon. I was privileged a fortnight ago to have met and interviewed "Pipo" Bundoc who, at 44 years of age, is already an accomplished medical revolutionary. As he gave me the specifics of his spinal innovation, so very clearly executed via his laptop computer, I could not help but notice the passion in his eyes and his demeanor as he spoke. It was indeed one great experience for me.

From his clinic and research facilities at the UP-PGH, this young doctor has been making a difference in a lot of lives afflicted with orthopedic illness, but do not have the financial capabilities to secure the requisite remedies.

Dr. Bundoc teaches Gross Anatomy at the UP College of Medicine. He is, to date, internationally recognized for his research and endeavors in spinal surgery, the science of biomechanics, and the discipline of medical education. Credited for inventing an innovative technique in scoliosis surgery for Filipinos that allows safer deformity corrections for them, his inventions have generated international interest.

I am certain it was not only because of the preparation he has received – M.D. from the University of the Philippines; post-graduate studies in pediatric spine, cervical and microvascular surgery; and prosthetic/orthotic biomechanics which he received at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kiel University of Germany, Strathelyde University in Glasgow, Scotland, and Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

Beyond these credentials is a passion for his chosen profession and dedication to his field of expertise. If that same passion stays with him – as he undertakes research for other remedies and solutions in order to lessen the physical pain his scoliotic patients undergo – the fulfillment that comes after the attainment of his goals will be his nourishing stew.

At the beginning of his medical career, Dr. Bundoc realized that the modern technique of scoliosis surgery utilized for Caucasian patients could not be used effectively with Filipinos who have generally smaller frames. He thus undertook anatomical studies to remedy this.

Having been able to forge the clinical solution and utilizing biomechanical studies on cadaveric spines to modify western technology, he developed and perfected it for local clinical application. The "Filipinization" of scoliosis surgery techniques thus evolved.

Pipo Bundoc is very passionate about sharing his technology with other Asian orthopedic and spine surgeons. He continues to innovate and invent the needed instruments and devices for the implementation of his cutting-edge technology. One such innovation is the "jet-lavage" apparatus for the treatment of severely contaminated open fractures. These are manufactured locally so that costs are lower.

With that same passion, Dr. Bundoc developed a simple technique of manufacturing bone replicas using polyurethane casting materials. These serve as bone models in the training of residents in orthopedic surgery, preparatory to the actual surgery on the fracture fixation itself. These "saw bones" have achieved global acceptance when, after the requisite validation, orders came from orthopedic training institutes in Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

In 1999, his passion for the institutionalization of biomechanical research in the country was met with success through the establishment of the first and only biomechanical laboratory in the Philippines.

This passion for orthopedic research does not go unnoticed or unheralded, however. In 1996, the 33-year-old Bundoc won the TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) award for medicine, followed in 2000 by the award as the Most Outstanding Young Scientist, for his pioneering accomplishments in biomechanics. And just two years ago, he was the youngest recipient of the Outstanding Philippine Doctors Award, a national award organized by, among others, JCI Philippines, the World Health Organization and the Philippine Medical Association.

Pipo Bundoc works quietly, incessantly and passionately. He is the compleat practitioner: teaching, holding clinic, and doing research. He is married to Dr. Josephine Bundoc, who specializes in rehabilitation medicine, with whom he has two young sons in high school. As a "rehab" doctor, his wife enjoys a complementary and synergistic relationship with him. They both find teaching a rewarding aspect of the medical practice. In Pipo’s own words, "If I give up teaching, I lose the ability to inspire and have the younger ones, my students, continue perfecting my innovations."

It is true – passion is everything.

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