824 Ormoc residents benefit from 5-day surgical mission

ORMOC CITY, Philippines – At least 119 people with life-threatening conditions, including a housemaid whose face and upper arm were deformed because of severe burns, got a new lease in life, thanks to Filipino-American surgeons who were on a five-day mission in this city sponsored by Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez recently.

The 119 patients had goiter, brain and cervical tumors and other maladies, which required major surgeries. Another 212 residents with “lumps and bumps” were also operated on. At least 72 people underwent operations for cataracts and other eye disorders while 421 had dental extractions.

All in all, 824 people availed themselves of the surgical mission in just five days, which the Filipino-American surgeons said was a “record-breaker” for them.

The Filipino-American surgeons, including some volunteer nurses, are all members of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America (SPSA), which has been doing various missions in the country and South America for the past 20 years. The team was slated to be in Mindoro for another mission.

This year’s surgical mission had 72 members, including Dr. Owen Kho, president of the Philippine College of Plastic Surgeons who personally did the reconstructive surgery on the female burn patient.

Also with the group was Dr. Manny Cacdac, chairman of the Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines who was awarded by President Aquino as a “Bayaning Pinoy” last November. 

During the culmination dinner of the mission held at Sabin Resort Hotel on the night of Feb. 4, Torres-Gomez was profuse with thanks to the surgical team, saying words were not enough to express her gratitude.

She also admitted to the team and audience how afraid she was to take on the mission, but added it was her husband Richard who gave her strength all the way.

“Thanks, Richard, without you I would not have been brave to accept this surgical mission. I was afraid… that the results might be half-baked and could be disastrous,” she said, adding that whenever she faltered, Richard was there to prod her.

“He would say, ‘Honey, it’s okay, it will work,’” she said. At the end of the program, she conferred on the SPSA a Congressional Medal of Humanitarian Service.

Torres-Gomez said that if all the operations were paid for in cash, including the professional fees of the surgeons, it could have run up to around P35 million. “We cannot afford that,” she said, “if not for your generosity.”

For their part, the surgeons expressed their admiration for the Gomez couple, saying they have been to several missions in the country for the past two decades but this was the first time that their hosts were almost at the hospitals every day to see them and the patients and would even go inside the operating rooms to observe the operations.

Drs. Tony Gualberto, Pacifico Dorado, Rey Cordero and Manny Cacdac, officials of the SPSA, added that their Ormoc stint was the most welcoming and memorable of all their missions and they vowed to return to the city soon.

In fact, Dr. Andres Patricio Andres, a retired military doctor in the United States, was so impressed with the Gomezes’ sincerity in serving their constituents that he will be donating surgical equipment through them, saying he is sure the couple would ensure that it would benefit deserving recipients. 

The surgeries were held at the OSPA-Farmers Medical Center, the Gatchalian Hospital, and Ormoc District Hospital.