Cebu hospital offers knee surgery for free
Total knee cap replacement or knee arthroplasty is now available for free at the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Carcar City, some 40 kilometers away south of Cebu City.
It is a surgery replacing the broken or thin cartilage on one’s knees, which degenerated due to excessive rubbing between the bones of the knee joint, causing pain, swelling and loss of motion.
A surgeon caps the ends of the bones that form the knee joint with stainless steel or plastic components, or implants a prosthetic, shaped as a joint.
A knee replacement usually costs P400,000 to 500,000 in private hospitals.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) started the free medical procedure after it got hold of a data showing that 10 percent or 270 per 2,700 senior citizens in Cebu suffer from osteoarthritis, a most common form of arthritis.
Interested patients are advised to call or visit the provincial hospitals or PHO for inquiry or application.
Patients are required to bring a certificate of indigency issued by the barangay captain and a special case summary issued by a local social worker.
Orthopedic Program Coordinator Jenith Joyce Gelbolingo said the application process may take around a month owing to a series of laboratory examinations, which are also free.
At present, 23 patients have already availed of the program, while nine others are still undergoing laboratory tests.
Five-hundred and forty-nine more are listed as candidates.
Each month, PHO is targeting to operate five patients.
Those who are not from Cebu province, on the other hand, may also avail of the program. But the patient needs to pay P60,000 for the operation.
“This is very cheap compared to private hospitals,” said Gelbolingo. —
A. Ambrad/KBQ
Lorraine Mitzi