More than 150 individuals from all over Angeles City, nearby towns and provinces are expected to benefit from a free surgical operation to be conducted by a medical team from the Philippine American Group of Educators and Surgeons (PAGES), in coordination with the city government.
The weeklong special surgical mission will be conducted at the Ospital ning Angeles (ONA), in Angeles City.
The special medical mission aims to provide reconstructive operations for children living with facial deformities such as Harelip and Cleft Palate.
According to the Chairman and Founder of PAGES, Vid Figueras, R.N., a corrective surgery for an inborn facial deformity ranges from P30,000 to P50,000. With the launch of Operation Hope, children are assured of a normal life ahead of them.
“This project is one of the many notable undertakings of PAGES since its establishment 27 years ago. We provide free remedial surgeries to less privileged Filipino children with birth defects,” said Figueras.
“What motivates us with this project are our children. We want our young generation to live a normal life,” Figueras added.
Screenings for prospective beneficiaries were held as early as January through the joint efforts of the Mayor’s Office, ONA, and the Angeles City Office for Persons with Disability Affairs (ACOPDA).
The surgical procedures will be facilitated by volunteer doctors and surgeons from China, Australia, Belgium, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Medical practitioners in ONA also volunteered to have extended shifts to take part in the said special medical mission.
For his part, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan expressed his thanks to the volunteer medical team of PAGES and ONA.
“We are deeply elated by this generous gesture from our partners from PAGES which will greatly aid our constituents, especially the children, who cannot afford this expensive clinical procedure,” said Mayor Pamintuan.
Aside from the free surgical operations, the PAGES team will also be donating medicines, and will be conducting capacity-building seminars and trainings for the medical staff of the public hospital.