The success of the first open heart surgeries conducted at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City this week promises a better future for the poor, Dr. Julius Drilon, CLMMRH chief, said Thursday, June 1.
The 1st Cardiovascular Surgical Mission by the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) and CLMMRH ended Thursday with an exit meeting.
The majority of the 13 patients operated on will be able to go home by Friday, Drilon said. The operations for the indigent patients were conducted for free, he said.
The breakthrough here is that through the project, PHC and CLMMRH were able to create equitable access to open heart surgery, which is a first in Negros, a statement from the hospital also said.
The way forward is to transition the project into a sustainable program through PhilHealth’s Z-benefit for cardiovascular cases, it added.
Dr. Ma. Bernadette Azcueta, PHC Pediatric Cardiology Intensive Care division head, said 13 surgeries on pediatric and adult patients were done to correct ventricular and atrial septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus.
Eight were open heart surgeries and five were closed heart surgeries, she said.
One of the open heart surgeries involved a Warden procedure for a Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (PAPVR), which is a type of complex congenital defect, she said.
All patients were stable with some already undergoing cardiac rehabilitation, Azcueta said.
Dr. Gerardo S. Manzo, PHC Medical Services deputy executive director, discussed plans for moving forward after the surgical mission, and emphasized the importance of the establishment of independent regional heart centers.
Despite the presence of an existing regional heart center at Iloilo City, CLMMRH was considered for Western Visayas because of the geographical issues of a multi-island region, Drilon said.
Manzo encouraged collaboration between Iloilo and Negros regional hospitals, especially in sharing its heart specialists.
“CLMMRH now has Paglaum. A renewed hope for the Negros Island”, Manzo said, as he assured continued PHC support for CLMMRH for it to become an independent heart center.
Drilon thanked PHC for giving CLMMRH hope, pointing out that that is why the initiative is called “Project Paglaum”, which he assured will push through ahead of schedule.*