Surgeons bewail canister scandal

The Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) expressed yesterday its “deep concern” over the so-called “canister scandal” where a patient of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu was videotaped while a perfume canister was being removed from his rectum.

“The PCS expresses its deep concern over the unfortunate incident that revealed apparent unbecoming behavior during the performance of a surgical procedure,” PCS president Dr. Armando Crisostomo said in a statement.

The surgery was filmed without the permission of the patient and uploaded on YouTube, a video-sharing Internet site.

Four doctors and five nurses face administrative and criminal charges for the incident while the nursing students who were present in the operating room have been referred to their respective schools for appropriate action.

Of the four doctors implicated in the scandal, Crisostomo said only Dr. Marlowe Parreño, a consultant, is a member of PCS.

Asked what sanctions the PCS would impose on Parreño, Crisostomo said, “When we reviewed the circumstances, technically we cannot make him liable because he is just a consultant and he was not in the operating room then.”

He said the other physicians were “residents in training” so they are not yet qualified to become members of PCS, which accepts only “consultants and fellows.”