University of Santo Tomas

Main Building, Manila, Philippines

          A special group of young men and women, filled with enthusiasm and dressed in their doctors’ whites met one fine morning. They would soon get into their precious SUV’s and compact cars and head into the heart of underprivileged areas of Metropolitan Manila in the Philippines. These were the Residents in Ophthalmology of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, on their way to fulfill an important mission. In these poverty-stricken areas, they would soon be screening hundreds of patients waiting to see if they were potential candidates for cataract surgery. Many such missions were conducted over the years utilizing the resources of local hospitals and were basically the “ Model Mission “ until 2002.

           In December of 2002, Dr. Tito Torralba, the UST Medical Director and Chief of Hospital, made an interesting proposal to Dr. Tony Gonzales, who was then the President of USTMAAA Foundation. Dr. Torralba came up with the idea of conducting an in-house SaveSight Mission program at the Santo Tomas University hospital.

          Dr. Gonzales saw this as a golden opportunity to further expand the reach of the SaveSight Missions , not to mention the honor of such a synergistic endeavor with the Alma Mater and therefore gladly accepted the proposal.

           By early July 2003, the dream was close to a reality. Despite the hectic schedule of the Alumni Homecoming in Baltimore, Maryland, preparations for the in-house SaveSight Mission were right on target. Across the miles in Manila, groundwork was also being laid down for this mission through the efforts of Dr. Jose Duran, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Fernando Lopez, Chief of Surgery and Dr. Tito Torralba.

Courtesy Call with the Medical Director & Chief of Hospital

Dr. Jose Duran, Chairman, Dept. of Ophthalmology,

Dr. Tito Toralba, Medical Director,

Dr. Tony Gonzales, Chairman SaveSight Missions,

      President USTMAAA Foundation 2001-2003

       Several months and seasons passed. Soon, February of 2004 came. The SaveSight team from the United States, headed by Dr. Tony Gonzales and joined by Dr. Eli Marcovici, Dr. Peter Maris , Ms. Vicky Mariano, were in Lubao, Pampanga where they spent 2 days of medical missionary work. They were also joined by Dr. Ed Beltran, Chair of the Foundation for Aid in the Philippines, Inc. and immediate Past President of USTMAAA. There was initial concern that the medical supplies they brought with them might not be adequate for the Save_A_Sight Mission at UST.

SaveSight Team from

New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center 

Dr. Eli Marcovici, Dr. Tony Gonzales, Ms. Vicky Mariano, Dr. Peter Maris

          The scheduled day of arrival at UST was on February 25, 2004. The usual “ parking lot “ traffic in Metropolitan Manila was compounded by the day being the Edsa-1 Memorial Celebration and the Team was caught in this jam. Back in the UST hospital on-call quarters, the Ophthalmology residents were patiently waiting for the team’s arrival with the precious cargo of supplies.

          It wasn’t till eleven in the evening when the SaveSight team finally arrived at the front steps of the Clinical Division and they were greeted by the eager residents, crisp-looking in their whites despite the late hours. Five boxes of supplies were unloaded to the quarters where they were sorted and itemized. It was a great relief later to find that there were more than ample provisions for the scheduled number of surgical cases. The Team rested that night at the New World Renaissance hotel, about a 5 km drive from the University.

Staff Room UST Eye Center

       The next day, they were picked up at 6:30 in the morning by Dr. Arvin Antipolo. They made a short stop at the Arch of the Centuries in front of the College of Liberal Arts Main Building for some photo-ops. Strolling along the walkway lined by acacia trees and manicured garden, the Team was filled with both nostalgia and pride, remembering the years spent at the University and feeling every ounce of Thomasian pride !

      After a courtesy call to Dean Dr. Rolando Lopez, the team meandered their The way into the UST Hospital Eye Center where they were met by Dr. Tito Torralba, Dr. Jose Duran, Dr. Jess Eusebio and Dr. Vicente de la Paz Jr. They were introduced to the residents and other staff by the Chief Resident, Dr. Jayson Canson. Dr. Marcelino Banzon, President of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology joined the mission later.

       Video Observation Room               Operating Room, Clinical division  

          There were 76 cataract surgeries on schedule. Three operating suites with a total of 7 operating tables were allotted . To accommodate the team’s scheduled surgeries, the Attending Staff of UST Hospital postponed their own surgical cases and was truly a magnanimous and commendable gesture. The Residents took turns operating and assisting each other, as did the Attending staff in supervising and demonstrating their individual techniques while many others observed the operations from the video monitors.

CME with the residents

           By the end of the second day, nearly all the scheduled cases were completed. In the evening, a dinner-CME was conducted. Dr. Eli Marcovici made a presentation on Lasik surgery. Dr. Tony Gonzales spoke on Adjustable Sutures in Strabismus Surgery and Dr. Joseph Anthony Tumbocon gave an Update on Glaucoma.

           SaveSight Missions was the first In-house Mission brought to the grounds of UST. The Team was proud and grateful for the opportunity to do this maiden project . It gave the residents some very valuable training experience as well as the opportunity to provide much needed community service. The intellectual interchange as well as the comradeship will be remembered , long after the Team returns to the United States.

Acknowledgement : The mission was supported by (1) USTMAAA Foundation, Tree of Life (2) SaveSight Missions (3) Alcon Pharmaceuticals (4) Allergen Medical Optics