Surgical mission serves 106 people

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines  — Beneficiaries of a surgical mission got a new lease on life following the successful operations undertaken by the Association of Filipino Physicians of Southern Illinois and doctors from Arizona and Philadelphia, USA, said Fancy Baluyot, consultant, Governor's Office medical and surgical missions and president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Gift of Life.

 The "very worthwhile event" held at the Borja Family Hospital in this city jointly sponsored by the Gift of Life and the provincial government of Bohol has undertaken a total of 106 surgical operations, Baluyot said in her report to Gov. Edgar Chatto.

 Forty-one of these were goiter/thyroidectomy/hemitythyroidectomy operations and 25 were Myoma operations. Other operations included 21 cleft lip/palate; hernia, 11; ovarian, three; gall bladder, four; and lymphoma, one.

 The youngest beneficiary was a four-month old for cleft lip while the oldest was 83-year-old Fortunata Tumanda from Trinidad town for goiter, Baluyot said.

 "The aforesaid surgical event was very worthwhile in the sense that thru the provision of free high-precision surgical services by the expert surgeons from the USA team, a lot of lives have been changed for the better and hopes are rekindled for the underprivileged patient-beneficiaries," she said.

 If quantified, the successful mission would have amounted to some P30 million (or $750,000) in expenses, Baluyot said.

 The medical team was headed by Dr. Renato Rivera along with doctors Rifat Latifi, David Leber, George Sun, Hoan Harper, Virgilio Guzman, Mukul Parikh, Julia Maape, Mary Ann Ruiz, Neelina Parikh, Roger Levin, Joel McCreary, Erlinda Rivera, Gregory Krause, Norma Walks, Melinda Borja, Reymoses Cabagnot and Josephine Jabonillo.

Support medical/surgical staff included nurses Tracy Walton, Natalie Strope, Pauline Tatad, Generose Buchanan, Ellen Farias, Flor Guzman, Jesusa Wiegmann and Teresa Sun, along with Orlando Rivera and Rosita Rivera. On hand to support the mission included Vice-Gov. Dr. Concepcion Lim, Board member Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, provincial administrator Alfonso Damalerio II, GOL chairman Dr. Ramie Cadag and GOL vice-chairman Rev. Fr. Victor Bompat, PNP provincial director Constantino Barot, Philippine Nurses Association chapter president Casilda Lapiz, RN. (FREEMAN)