“I knew even before I went to the US to train that I was going back here,” shared Dr. Franz Marie Cruz, the first Filipina to graduate from a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in the United States. “For one, my family is here. Plus, there are only about 30 neuro-ophthalmologists in the country, not enough to serve over 90 million Filipinos. Mas kailangan ako dito (I am more needed here),” she added.
few neuro-opthalmologists in the
country.
Cruz is a neuro-ophthalmologistat the Pacific Eye and Laser Institute, one of the emerging premier eye-care centers in Asia. She also specializes in treating patients with uveitis, medical retina and cataract. She pursued a career in neuro- ophthalmology after receiving a medical degree from the University of the Philippines and completing her three-year residency at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the UP-Philippine General Hospital.
According to Cruz, neurosurgery, neurology and neuro-ophthalmology are related in that they deal with brain diseases. She said eye health issues such as vision loss, double vision and having problems in one’s peripheral fields may be symptoms of more serious health risks, such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis and brain tumors. “There are brain tumors that affect vision or eye movement,” she shared. “Neuro-ophthalmologists are trained to find out whether a patient’s eye problems are linked with brain disorders.”
Cruz stressed the importance of undergoing routine eye exams as it determines not only a patient’s prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses, but also checks the eyes for common diseases and evaluates them as an indicator of one’s overall health.
“A patient went here to make sure he was wearing the right prescription glasses. During my examination, I suspected he had a problem with his brain,” she shared. “We did an MRI and found out that he indeed had a tumor. Luckily, we discovered it early. He came back to thank me and said that I saved his life.”
Cruz also shared the story of one young patient who had fever for three weeks. Her parents brought her to different doctors and had her checked for dengue, UTI and other illnesses, to no avail. “The patient also complained of blurred vision in one eye. When her parents brought her to me, I saw that the optic nerve was swollen. We found out that she was scratched by a cat one week before she became sick.”
Cruz said there aren't enough neuro-ophthalmologists practicing in the country.
"Filipino eye doctors are probably among the best cataract surgeons in the world. However the challenge is to improve our clinical eye in detecting neuro-ophthalmologic diseases in their early stages before they cause more serious illness,” she said.
Cruz is doing her share by working part-time as a faculty member of the San Beda University College of Medicine.
Pacific Eye and Laser Institute Surgicenter is located at 50 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air, Makati City. The center also has clinics in Quezon City and Binondo, Manila. For more information about its services and to find out more about neuro-opthalmology, visit www.pacificeye.com.ph.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/24/johns-hopkins-trained-doctor-now-in-the-philippines/
No comments:
Post a Comment