Creating Smiles and Bridges Through Telemedicine

February 1, 2011 9:11 am | by Xandra Bernal | Posted in News

Manila, Philippines – JBV, a typical 7 year-old boy attending his grade school never imagined that he will be able to smile differently.  From Itbayat, a municipality in the northernmost island of the Philippines in the province of the Batanes, he was born with a Complete Cleft Lip and and Palate.  Several years ago, the parents of this child flew to the City of Manila several times for his operation but never became successful due to operation clearance hindrances.  But through the use of an off-the-shelf videoconferencing software, the patient and the otorhinolaryngologist were able to meet and evaluate the case, and the patient was cleared for surgery.

On the 10th of April, 2010, JBV flew from Basco, Batanes to Manila and was admitted at the charity ward of Head and Neck Surgery (Ward 10) through the modest service of Dr. Archie Cabungcal and Dr. HR Aujero.  Although discrepancies on laboratory results delayed the surgery of the patient, the 6-hour procedure push through last April 19, 2010.  JBV was able to undergo cheiloalveoloplasty, a surgical repair of the lips and the palate, and funds for the round-trip flight and OR needs of this patient was shouldered by several concerned citizens and organizations collected by the patient’s attending physician, Dr. Allan M. Sande.

Today, the patient will undergo speech rehabilitation and the health practitioners plan to use the most appropriate communication technology tool to monitor and evaluate the improvements on the patient.  This kid’s smile is a not just smile of relief, but a smile of hope for a better future. Through the use of the available ICT infrastructures, the UP Manila National Telehealth Center have created not only a smile but bridges to connect these network of health practitioners.  The world of telemedicine is a vast ocean waiting to create waves of amusement.