LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Combined surgeons from Metro Manila and the Cordillera were able to perform a successful kidney transplant after a 5-hour operation at the Cordillera Hospital of the Divine Grace (CHDG) last Sunday.
Dr. Philip Walsien, a private medical practitioner based at the CHDG, said that the kidney transplant that was performed in the La Trinidad-based hospital was the first complex surgery to be performed in the cordillera that will serve as a means of popularizing kidney transplant in the region.
He disclosed that the kidney donor was a 51-year old female from the capital town who is the mother of the 31-year old female recipient.
The medical doctor stated that the transplant procedures started at around 9 am and ended shortly before 2 pm of October 25, 2020.
According to him, the donor was already discharged from the hospital while the recipient will be discharged from the private health facility anytime
Walsien revealed that based on the initial assessment of the surgeons, there are no signs of rejection on the part of the recipient which is a good indication of the successful conduct of the medical procedure.
Further, he explained that rejections are minimal when the donor and the recipient of the kidney are relatives that is why with the good signs being shown by the latter, she might be discharged but subject to close monitoring.
Walsien stipulated that there is another scheduled kidney transplant in the CHDG by November but the schedule will still be determined as both the donor and the patient will have to undergo certain pre-operation procedures such as counseling, work up among others.
The private practitioner claimed that the surgeons that performed the first successful kidney transplant were composed of two surgeons from Metro Manila while the rest of the team were experienced surgeons from the cordillera and the same only indicates that complicated surgeries such as kidney transplants can be done locally with available local experts.
Walsien emphasized that the donor and the recipient of the first kidney transplant in the region are Cordillerans that will likely open the opportunities for more kidney patients to avail of similar medical procedures in the locality in the future.
He pointed out that with the successful conduct of the kidney transplant in the CHDG, there is a clear indication that similar medical procedures could be done by existing health facilities that will serve as an assurance for interested parties that such complex medical procedures could already be performed in local private and public health facilities.
The CHDG is the first private hospital that is operational in the capital town that contributed in boosting the existing health care facilities for enhanced delivery of health care services to the people not only from the province but also those individuals wanting to seek medical attention from various parts of the region.
La Trinidad is one of the capital towns being groomed to be a city because of its ability to comply with most of the requirements to be converted into the region’s third city in the future. By HENT