Cardinal Santos Medical Center Introduces Minimally Invasive Surgery as the Future of Surgical Healthcare

Science and technology has come a long way for centuries now and with the invention of machines that aides surgery, there has been an emergence of revolutionary surgical procedure that resulted to a faster recovery time for patients. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) which is continually evolving is highlighted during the first ever webicon by Cardinal Santos Medical Center last January 27. The webicon- Why Less Is More: 10 Thing to Know About Minimally Invasive Surgery was attended by Dr. Alfred Allen Buenafe, Executive Director of Cardinal Santos' Philippine Center for Advance Surgery (the pioneer MIS training center in the Philippines); Dr. Zenaida Javier-Uy, Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Jaideep Raj Rao, Senior Consultant and General & Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore.

Dr. Buenafe talked about the advantages of laparoscopic surgery, a type of minimally invasive surgery that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen and pelvis without making large incisions on the skin. "Laparoscopy can be used to help diagnose a wide range of conditions that develop inside the abdomen or pelvis, through direct visualization of the affected organs. It can be used to carry out surgical procedures like removing a diseased organ like gallbladder, or for collecting tissue samples for testing or biopsy."

"When we started doing minimal access surgery, the results were not only similar to large incision surgery , but they were even better," said Dr. Rao. "Patients recovered much better and they could get back into society doing their normal activity. And they even have low recurrence rate. Now we know that when we have these minimal access surgeries, there's minimal disturbance in a patient's physiology, and therefore, the amount of stress to the human body is more lower and therefore the recovery is much faster."

Dr. Rao also discussed the development of surgery and the breakthroughs it has contributed. 

Here are some testimonials:

Dr. Costello underwent MIS in 2017 and operated by Dr. Buenafe. "I must admit that as much as I'd come to believe Dr. Buenafe, I wasn't totally convinced when he told me I could go back to my previous good health and lifestyle almost immediately. But healing was smooth (Dr. Costello was operated for hernia) as silk and I quickly returned to a life I had not enjoyed in years. My work, my play, and my self-confidence all returned and it was easy to be happy again!"

"I truly thank God for a successful surgery- they were able to take out the cyst the size of a California orange," said Isis Huang. "The MIS procedure helped me to have a faster recovery process. After I was discharged, I was advised to stay home for two weeks but all I needed was just one week. I went back to my OB-gyne and my wound was dry and healed."

"The Philippine Center for Advanced Surgery Training Center of Cardinal Santos Medical Center is the first of its kind in the Philippines. It was established to provide access to world-class training while promoting the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to our junior consultants and nurses in the Philippines and the Asia Pacific," said Dr. Buenafe. "Through this advocacy, our ultimate goal is to elevate the standard of healthcare especially for the Filipino patient."