Cancer, Laparoscopic and General Surgery in Makati and Taguig

St. Luke's Medical Center is offering free RT-PCR swab test for patients availing outpatient surgical procedures.

To avail this promo, please contact the Product Information Hub at 0919-057-7744 (CALL) or 0919-160-7744 (SMS). You may also contact us by sending an email to [email protected].

Learn more: https://bit.ly/SLMCSafeSoundSurgery

Link found with the use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI includes omeprazole, pantoprazole, etc.) and severity of symptoms in covid19 patients. Increasing dosage of PPI is correlated with more severe neurologic symptoms for covid19 patients.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-science/virus-tricks-the-body-into-attacking-brain-common-heartburn-drugs-linked-to-coronavirus-risk-idUSKBN2492YG

Virus tricks the body into attacking brain; common heartburn drugs linked to coronavirus risk The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

To my dear patients, family and friends, as the COVID19 pandemic community quarantine approaches its fourth month, we have observed that the cases in hospitals are no longer increasing daily. Most of the tertiary hospitals abroad and in Metro Manila are now starting to reopen their out-patient clinics and accept elective surgeries in the operating rooms. Hospital safety protocols have been developed and implemented to maintain a safer environment for patients and medical staff.

In my case, many of the postponed post-operative follow-ups and long overdue consultations for acute and chronic surgical complaints are now being addressed by having an initial teleconsultation or going straight for a clinic visit (after booking an appointment) in my hospital clinics in Makati Medical Center, Saint Luke's Medical Center-BGC, Medical Center Taguig and St. Clare's Medical Center -Makati.

To book an appointment, you just need to fill out the screening form so we can efficiently schedule your visit to your preferred clinic or teleconsultation at your preferred time. Once you submit the online form, I will be able to see your complaints and a confirmation of your appointment will be sent back to you.

Keep safe, everyone.

Hospitals are now resuming non-urgent procedures and hospital clinics are reopening. Is it safe to go to your doctor's clinic for follow-up or to go to the ER for non-COVID problems?

Hospitals in the US and the Philippines are updating safety procedures as we reopen our clinics and operating theatre for elective procedures. It is important to weigh the risk of contracting the virus with the risk of other health conditions worsening by not seeking medical treatment or consultation.

Here are some of the new precautionary measures that were initiated in hospitals abroad and locally to deal with the COVID19 crisis.



https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/dont-delay-surgery-precautions-are-place-ensure-your-safety

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/05/04/is-it-safe-to-go-to-the-hospital-during-covid-19-pandemic-doctors-say-yes

Breast Cancer Awareness

• One in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
• Seventy-five percent of those with breast cancer will not have a family history of the disease.
• There is a 98% survival rate if breast cancer is detected and treated at an early stage. This falls to 27% survival rate if the breast cancer is detected at an advanced stage.

The following data were taken from Johns Hopkins Medicine Breast Cancer Awareness infographic (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/breast-cancer/breast-cancer-awareness-infographic).

What should you do if you find a breast lump?

Breast changes that you discover and observe to persist after the menstrual cycle should be evaluated by a general surgeon.

Here are the types of breast changes that should be examined by your general surgeon:
• an area of the breast that is significantly different from other areas in both breasts
• a lump or area of thickening in or near the breast or underarm
• any changes in the contour, shape or breast size
• a mass felt even if as small as a pea
• a marble like area under the skin
• any changes on the breast skin appearance or feel (puckered, scaly or reddened, dimpled, thickened with orange peel skin appearance)
• spontaneous discharge from the ni**le of a reddish or clear fluid

Here are the steps in doing a breast self examination. This should be performed 3 to 5 days after the end of menstruation or at the same date every month for those who are not menstruating.

Don't worry, 80% of breast lumps are benign.

• For women 40 years old and over, a yearly mammogram is recommended and breast ultrasound every 6 months.
• For younger women, 20 to 40 years old, a breast ultrasound is recommended every 6 months for monitoring.

These breast examination guidelines are taken from the Cleveland Clinic (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/6270-benign-breast-disease).

Applying the new ICG (Indocyanin Green) Technology makes laparoscopic cholecystectomy operations safer by providing a visual guide to surgeons performing difficult gallbladder operations. Utilization of fluorescence imaging by using infrared light to make the injected ICG dye in the patient's cystic duct and biliary tree flouresce guides the surgeon to safely identify the duct. Philippine tertiary centers also use this technology in performing sentinel node biopsy and colon surgery tissue perfusion assessment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_UYTRfz5-8&app=desktop

Laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy are the most common surgeries done by general and minimally-invasive (MIS) surgeons.

The common indications for this type of surgeries are:
• gallstones in the gallbladder which causes repeated right upper abdominal pain (felt under the lowermost rib on the right side, sometimes radiating to the back)
• gallstones in asymptomatic diabetic patients
• gallstones in the bile duct (choledocholithiases)
• gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis)
• large gallbladder polyps, and
• pancreatic inflammation due to gallstones.

Pictures below show some of the gallstone types that I have seen during surgery.

The illustration is from the Mayo Clinic Foundation (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cholecystectomy/about/pac-20384818) for medical education.

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