Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo goes under knife anew

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday went under the knife for the third time in less than a month.

Doctors at St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig City repaired the metal implant on Arroyo’s neck on Wednesday morning, a procedure initially scheduled on Tuesday but was postponed after she developed a fever over the weekend.

Surgeons proceeded with the operation at around 8 a.m. and finished at around 2 p.m., said Marilen Lagniton, SLMC vice president for customer affairs.

“She had no fever since last night so doctors decided to do the surgery this morning,” Lagniton told reporters.

Severe pain

The 64-year-old Arroyo first underwent surgery on July 29, four days after she was brought to the hospital due to severe pain in the upper limbs, which doctors said was a result of nerves being compressed in the neck area.

Prior to the first operation, she was undergoing pain management and physical therapy for a portion of her spine that had become misaligned, an age-related condition called cervical spondylosis.

Doctors then put titanium plates to correct four afflicted levels of her spine. She was discharged a week later.

On Aug. 10, doctors attempted to replace the plates after these were dislodged, but an infection prevented them from completing the procedure. The infection had caused fluid to collect in Arroyo’s cervical spine and dislodged the plates.

Bone grafts

Arroyo’s main attending physician, Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, earlier said Wednesday’s surgery would involve reinforcing the titanium plates with a mesh made from the same metal to hold the screws in place.

Bone grafts from Arroyo’s pelvis would also be placed on the mesh, which the doctors hope to grow in order to add stability to the implant, she said.

Doctors said the weakening of Arroyo’s bones was also a reason why the implants were dislodged even after these were screwed into place.