Patients that require open heart surgery but do not have money for the procedure now have another avenue to get their life-saving treatment. A team of cardiologists performed the first-ever open heart surgery in a local government hospital on Tuesday, at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa.
The seven member team is from the Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City, and are composed of top cardiologists including Dr. Jorge Garcia, the country’s top heart surgeon; Dr. Joseph Bamil; Dr. Roger Lim; Dr. Mervyn Orocio; Dr. Richard Escolar; Dr. Cristina Tiongson; and Dr. Michael Reyes.
The doctors performed coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery on a 61-year old Muntinlupa resident. The procedure lasted for 4 hours.
“This is the first and only local government hospital that [have performed] that procedure. Sa mga private, meron na ‘yan, ‘pag kapos ka, pupunta ka’ng [Philippine] Heart Center at saka PGH [Philippine General Hospital], pila ‘yon,” Dr. Edwin Dimatatac, Director of Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
While the procedure is common in private hospitals, it is rarely performed in public facilities because of the lack of equipment and manpower. The procedure is now part of the roster of services offered at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa.
