MMFC is back in Leyte for another surgical mission

By Provincial Media Relations Center
November 8, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY  –  At least 29 patients suffering from either a cleft lip or cleft palette would be treated by a team of medical professionals of the Medical Mission for Children (MMFC) of Salem, Massachusetts, USA who are part of the surgical mission being conducted this week at the Leyte Provincial Hospital.

The MMFC surgical mission, which started Monday, is the fourth time to be conducted here in the province of Leyte.

Leyte Provincial Health Officer Dr. Erlinda Astorga says the 29 patients coming from various municipalities in the province passed the screening conducted weeks before the surgical mission set this week. Ten of these 29 patients, Dr. Astorga added, are follow-up patients.

“These ten were here during the last time the medical team was here in 2008. They were treated then for cleft lip. This time for their follow-up operation, they would already be treated for their cleft palette,” Dr. Astorga said.

Operation of one patient last to two hours or more it was learned.

The MMFC team that is here in Leyte this time is composed of four surgeons, four anesthesiologists, three PACU nurses, a pediatrician and three media documenters.  The team is headed by Dr. Robert Ward.

Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla said this surgical mission is such a big help to the parents since surgery of this nature is quite expensive in the country ranging from P20, 000 or more.

“We are very grateful they choose to come back to Leyte every year and help our children who are unfortunate to be born under such condition,” Gov. Petilla earlier said.

MMFC is a non profit organization that has been providing much needed quality surgical and dental care to underprivileged children and young adults throughout the world and works to facilitate the transfer of education, knowledge and recent innovations to the local medical communities.

Based in Massachusetts, MMFC is comprised of a dedicated group of volunteer surgeons, medical specialists, dentists, nurses, biomedical engineers, administrative and materials personnel.

This year MMFC has just been on similar surgical missions around the globe particularly in Guatemala, Rwanda, Ecuador, Ukraine, Peru, Tanzania and in Angeles City in Pampanga here in the Philippines.