MANILA, Philippines—The successful rectal operation done at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) could have brought glory to the country’s medical profession had the doctors and nurses not made fun of the anesthetized patient and uploaded a video of the surgery on YouTube.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the successful procedure in which a perfume canister was extracted from the rectum of a patient in Cebu City was commendable but there was a breach of protocol.
The three doctors and two nurses involved in the surgery could be formally charged and their medical licenses revoked, he said.
“If protocol had been observed, it (surgery) would have been praise-worthy. Instead of highlighting that we have excellent and world-class doctors, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Duque told reporters Tuesday in a press conference.
He was referring to the uploading of the video of the surgery on the Internet as well on cellular phones.
“It’s pathetic ... this should not have happened,” he said.
In the three-minute video, doctors and nurses are shown laughing, giggling and cheering in the operating room. As a doctor gingerly pulls out a 15-centimeter-long spray canister from a male patient’s rectum, someone shouts, “Baby out!” amid loud cheers.
A waste
The health secretary said members of the VSMMC surgical team could have made history. Because instead of doing an invasive surgical procedure, they opted for a safer and simpler extraction of the canister from the patient’s rectum.
“The [video] could have been a very good case study for people who would like to learn about safe alternative procedures. It was such a waste,” Duque said, adding that the team’s shameful behavior obliterated “all the plus factors” in the procedure.
The health secretary identified five of the estimated 15 members of the surgical team. These were the people who would most likely be held responsible for the incident, he said.
Identities revealed
They were head surgeon Dr. Philip Leo Arias, assistant surgeons Dr. Angelo Linawagan and Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal and circulating nurse Carmina Sapio, who could face administrative charges ranging from simple neglect to grave misconduct.
According to Duque, the five medical personnel were still on duty at the VSMMC, although they had been transferred to different stations in the absence of preventive sanctions against them.
Duque also listed the following breaches in protocol: The use of cellular phones in the operating room, the use of a video camera without the patient’s consent and not for educational purposes, and the “shameful” behavior of the staff involved in the surgery.
Revoke their licenses?
“There must be respect for the patient’s rights. In the case of a patient under general anesthesia, this is sacrosanct. Other doctors pray before they do surgery. This is a far cry from what the medical staff did—they laughed, talked and did everything else wrong. It is shameful,” he said.
Duque stressed that the head surgeon, like the captain of a ship, should have made sure that proper decorum was observed inside the operating room.
So far, Duque said, no charges have been filed. While the VSMMC and the Department of Health (DoH) Central Visayas have conducted their respective fact-finding investigations, the VSMMC has yet to issue “show-cause” letters to the respondents.
The respondents will be given a chance to explain their side, after which the DoH will conduct a preliminary investigation for the possible filing of formal administrative charges.
Duque said the DoH could forward documents pertinent to the case to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and seek the revocation of licenses, depending on the gravity of the offense.
They’re sorry
DoH Central Visayas director Dr. Susana Madarieta said some of the respondents interviewed by the VSMMC fact-finding committee have expressed remorse for the incident.
“Based on the report I received, they said they were ecstatic because they were able to extract the object from the patient. They were not aware of what was happening around them, that people were taking videos,” she said.
“The operation was very successful. It’s such a waste that this thing happened because they are very young professionals with budding careers. They don’t know what will happen to them because of this incident,” Madarieta said.
Duque said it was possible the incident happened because of “a lapse in judgment, ecstasy over the successful surgery and overreaction.”
‘He’s only a resident’
In Cebu City, one of the doctors linked to the rectal surgery scandal is ready to defend himself at the proper forum.
The mother of Dr. Philip Leo Arias, who declined to give her first name, said her son continues to report at the VSMMC despite the controversy.
“He is not demoralized because he believes he has not committed any error,” Arias’ mother said in an interview Tuesday.
But the mother expressed disappointment over the investigation which put the blame on Arias.
She explained that while her son was the head surgeon during the operation, he is only a resident doctor and still under training at the hospital.
“It’s unfair because I believe there were other consultants present during the operation,” she said, adding that they have yet to engage the services of a lawyer.
Doctors are not in
The other doctors and nurses involved in the scandal were unavailable for comment.
When the Philippine Daily Inquirer called the VSMMC, the person who answered the phone said nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal was on leave and would be back on Friday while circulating nurse Carmina Sapio had taken the day off.
When the Inquirer called Sapio’s residence, her father-in-law said the nurse was on duty at the hospital.
A staff at the VSMMC surgeon’s hall said that Doctors Angelo Linawagan and Max Joseph Montecillo were at the hospital Tuesday morning but were not around in the afternoon.
