Karl Michael Reyes: Doctor with a big heart

MANILA, Philippines - It’s the ultimate accolade for a young professional, an affirmation of one’s exceptional work in his field of expertise. 

But for Makati Medical Center’s Karl Michael Reyes, MD, who was recognized in December 2013 with The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award for his contribution in medicine, particularly congenital heart disease, helping patients in need is reward enough.  Although he was initially reluctant to accept the nomination, his colleagues cited how more attention and awareness could be brought to his advocacy with such an award.

Indeed, Dr. Reyes has dedicated his life and service to providing heart surgery to children born with some kind of congenital heart disease — there are at least 30 types of heart defects.

Consider these grim statistics. “Of the 1.7 million children who are born in the Philippines every year, approximately 17,000 will be born with some kind of congenital heart condition,” says Dr. Reyes, who did his surgical residency at the University of the Philippines, followed by clinical fellowships in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and at the Children’s Hospital Boston-Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. “At some point, 10 to 20 percent of them will need to undergo surgery.  That’s anywhere from 1,700 to 3,400 children.”

From the common hole in the heart to more complex conditions like misarranged arteries or way-too-small heart chambers, congenital heart disease has no known cause. “It is an inborn error in the heart’s development,” explains the surgeon.

Contrary to popular belief, congenital heart disease is not a product of economic standing. “It only seems more prominent among marginalized groups because those who can afford to pay for the surgery take care of it as soon as they find out,” Dr. Reyes points out. “Also, most parents with young children who are diagnosed with congenital heart disease usually do not yet have the means for surgery, because they are still young and only beginning their careers, and hence have not yet been able to save or prepare. Such is the problem when most patients have to directly pay for their own healthcare. This is in contrast to other countries with socialized medicine.”

Among indigent patients, seeking assistance for heart surgery can have them placed on the wait list of a hospital’s charity cases for up to five years. “But it’s worse in countries like Cambodia, Laos, and some countries in Africa where no heart surgery is happening whatsoever,” informs Dr. Reyes. “When there are no medical missions there, there are no operations.”

Since choosing to subspecialize in pediatric cardiac surgery, Dr. Reyes has consistently given children a fighting chance. A member of the Rotary Club of Makati West, he’s involved in the medical missions organized by the Gift of Life, a US-based group founded by Rotarians in New York. It was at the Makati Medical Center eight years ago where the first Gift of Life heart surgery was performed in the Philippines. Last April, Reyes led a team of local and international doctors in a medical mission conducted at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. The mission saw 10 children undergo life-extending surgeries.

Since its inception in early 2011, under Dr. Reyes’s own initiative with the help of some close colleagues, Operation Heart Foundation, Inc. has extended surgery to some 100 children. Funding for the treatments (which still run in the hundreds of thousands of pesos even with “friendly” rates courtesy of a memorandum of agreement with hospitals) comes through various channels. Such as Alay Sining, an exhibition and sale of commissioned pieces by prominent art masters held by the Rotary Club-Makati West. Proceeds went to financing the children’s surgical expenses.

Good Samaritans also abound. He recalls the time he received an e-mail from a New York-based company who donated US$6,000 to his foundation after hearing about the work he does. “It’s about finding people or people finding you,” the surgeon sums up the financial assistance he receives. 

 â€œMakati Medical Center has a very close community of doctors. We work very well with each other and make it a point to help each other out,” avers the surgeon. “If there’s anything MakatiMed can be proud of, it’s the way its doctors collaborate with each other. This collaboration of brilliant minds makes a big difference in patient care.”

For all the children that he’s treated, countless others await. “I don’t think we’ve really earned this award yet, we’ve only just started,” reflects Dr. Reyes on his 2013 TOYM achievement. “There’s definitely much more that needs to be done — and it doesn’t stop with me. The main goal is that helping children in need continues, even without me and the foundations.”