ABOUT 25 Kagay-anons aged two years old to 22 years old underwent colostomy operation at the city-owned JR Borja General Hospital (JRBGH) under the ‘Colostomy Freedom’ medical mission.
During Monday morning’s flag-raising program hosted by the City Health Office, Dr. Dures Fe Tagayuna—one of the medical mission’s lead organizers—said the project is made possible by the World Surgical Foundation-Philippines (WSF-P) with assistance from JRBGH and City Hall under Mayor Rolando Uy’s administration.
For the Cagayan de Oro leg of the project, Dr. Tagayuna said volunteer doctors, nurses, and personnel from the Philippine College of Surgeons Surgery for the Underserved Regions and Education (PCS-SURE), WSF (US), Philippine Society of Pediatric Surgeons (PPS), Philippine Pediatric Society and Philippine Society of Anaesthesiologists (PSA).
Of the 40 that were scheduled to undergo colostomy—which consists of creating an opening of the person’s anterior abdominal wall and suturing it into place to provide an alternative opening for one’s feces—about 25 passed the screening process for the operation.
Dr. Tagayuna, former JRBGH chief, said they had patients as young as two years old to as old as 22 years old.
“Thanks to the upgrading of JRBGH into a Level 2 hospital (the project became possible)..and Mayor Uy agreed to provide (personnel in support of the mission),” Dr. Tagayuna said.
The Department of Health (DOH) said a hospital achieves Level 2 status once it upgrades its facilities to include intensive care units (ICUs) and hired specialist doctors.
“Usually a medical mission of this scope would cost (a minimum) of P3.5 million. But with the donation of half a million pesos by the World Surgical Foundation-Philippines, plus the assistance of JRBGH and City Hall and the volunteerism of our doctors and medical personnel, we were able to help 25 people (resume normal lives),” Dr. Tagayuna said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
