By Rachel Magday

 

NUEVA VIZCAYA, Philippines — Specialist doctors from the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) will conduct a two-day medical mission at the Region 2 Trauma and Medical Center (R2TMC) on June 10 and 11, providing free minimally invasive gynecologic procedures to selected patients in the province.

Dr. Jane Publico of the R2TMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology said the medical mission will focus on laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, procedures used to diagnose and treat certain conditions affecting the female reproductive system.

Publico relayed the details of the medical mission during a courtesy call on Gov. Atty Jose V. Gambito, together with the nine QMMC doctors who will perform the procedures.

According to Publico, 16 Nueva Vizcaya residents are scheduled to undergo the procedures during the two-day mission. She clarified that walk-in patients cannot be accommodated, as those included in the medical mission had already undergone prior diagnostic evaluation and screening.

Publico said minimally invasive gynecologic procedures are performed through small incisions or natural body openings, reducing the need for traditional open surgery.

Compared with conventional surgery, she said these procedures usually result in less pain, smaller scars, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery and a lower risk of complications.

Publico said laparoscopy is a procedure that allows doctors to examine and treat problems in the pelvic area through a small incision in the abdomen.

Hysteroscopy, meanwhile, allows doctors to check and treat conditions inside the uterus through a thin instrument inserted through the cervix, she said.

The procedures will be provided free of charge. Publico said similar procedures may cost more than P50,000, especially for patients without PhilHealth coverage.

Publico thanked the office of Gov. Gambito for shouldering the accommodation of the visiting doctors from QMMC.

She also expressed hope that the medical mission would become an annual activity at R2TMC through the continued partnership of the hospital and the provincial government.

Publico said the initiative would benefit Novo Vizcayanos who need advanced gynecologic care, especially since no hospital in Nueva Vizcaya currently offers this type of minimally invasive gynecologic procedure.