BONE DISORDER AFFECTED GMA'S SPINE IMPLANT; 3rd SURGERY SET
[Rep. Gloria Arroyo before 1st spine surgery]
MANILA, AUGUST 19, 2011 (BULLETIN) By FRANCIS T. WAKEFIELD - Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is set to undergo another surgery early next week to treat her brittle cervical spine.
Dr. Juliet Gopez Cervantes, Arroyo's personal physician, told a media briefing at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City that a team of doctors, led by veteran orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mario Ver, will perform the third operation on the former President as early as Tuesday after finding out the main reason her body rejected the titanium implants in her cervical spine.
Cervantes said that based on laboratory results or findings, Mrs. Arroyo is suffering from hypoparathyroidism, an endocrine disorder that leads to decreased levels of parathyroid hormone and affects bone structure.
She said this was the main reason the titanium implants in her cervical spine were rejected, contrary to initial findings that it was caused by infection.
"Yes, there was an infection. However, there is a high likelihood that it was not the infection that was the main reason the implant did not take off. The result of our work-up showed that there is probably a mechanical problem and the reason for this is there is a high likelihood the former President has an inherent bone problem affecting the screws of the implant. This poor bone quality leads to loosening or disgorgement of the implant," she said.
"The other compounding problem is we found out that her calcium is very, very low. Until now, it is still low, that's why we need to supplement the calcium. The reason for the problem is metabolic in nature, which we call hypoparathyroidism," Cervantes added.
Cervantes said doctors will place a mesh that contains bone graft that will be harvested from parts of Mrs. Arroyo's pelvic bone, hoping it will lead to growth of bones that will fuse her cervical spine.
Cervantes said if successful, they can now remove Mrs. Arroyo's halo vest (also known as a halo ring or halo crown) fitted to her to immobilize the cervical spine.
"Hopefully, in the coming weeks, there will be growth of bones that will fuse the cervical spine so that we can already remove the halo vest," she said.
Cervantes said the operation might take place by Tuesday. After the operation, she said, Mrs. Arroyo will need to rest for another two to three weeks at the hospital's coronary care unit (CCU).
The former President is still at the CCU and strictly prohibited from mingling with others.
Doing fine
Cervantes reiterated that Arroyo was never in critical condition after her second surgery despite persistent rumors that she was very ill.
There were times last week that her calcium was not normal, but Mrs. Arroyo's life was never threatened at all, she said.
"There was an occasion we have to replace the low calcium as it can throw a patient into problems with the heart. Of course we also have to consult the brain section, but she is not critical," she added.
Cervantes also said it never came to their mind to recommend Mrs. Arroyo to seek treatment abroad for her cervical spine problem.
For his part, Dr. Bryan Cabral, head of the St. Luke's Renal Diseases and Transplant Services Department, said Mrs. Arroyo is in very stable condition and doing very well.
"She's actually doing very well. She's able to walk around, eat, do regular activities, and watch television. For the most part, she's actually very stable," Cabral explained.
To treat hypoparathyroidism, Cabral said they are giving Mrs. Arroyo ample building blocks like calcium and Vitamin D.
FROM THE PHILSTAR
Joker wants GMA removed from watchlist By Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated August 20, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Joker Arroyo challenged the Aquino administration yesterday to lift the order that placed Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the Bureau of Immigration watchlist.
This, he said, would show sincerity that the Palace will not object to the former chief executive's plan to seek medical treatment abroad.
Although the senator welcomed the apparent change of heart of the present administration, Arroyo urged President Aquino to withdraw Mrs. Arroyo from the watch list in the same manner that former first lady Imelda Marcos showed sincerity in allowing his (Aquino's) late father to seek medical treatment in the United States in the 1980s.
Sen. Arroyo compared the compassion of the present administration with that of the martial law years when Marcos allowed the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. to undergo heart surgery in the United States in 1980.
Despite the Palace's announcement, Sen. Arroyo asked why the government has not yet lifted the watch list order against the former president.
"How about GMA? Our DOJ (Department of Justice) has placed her on the travel watch list, as if she can escape in her semi-immobilized state," the senator said.
"Malacañang's announcement that it would not prevent GMA's travel abroad should she need medical treatment elsewhere is a breath of fresh air. Malacañang's change of heart towards temperance is a welcome relief and long overdue," Arroyo, executive secretary during the term of the President's mother former President Corazon Aquino, said.
The senator issued the statement a day after Aquino said that the Palace would not prevent Mrs. Arroyo from seeking medical treatment abroad in connection with the failed surgery on her cervical spine, which developed complications due to an infection and thyroid problem.
A human rights lawyer during the martial law years, Arroyo recalled that the former first lady Imelda Marcos immediately ordered the concerned agencies to assist ex-Sen. Ninoy Aquino to enable him to go to Boston for heart surgery.
"While Ninoy Aquino, President Marcos' sworn enemy, was in solitary confinement in a military stockade, (had been) sentenced to die by musketry, he suffered a life-threatening heart attack. His military handlers rushed him to a military hospital," Arroyo said.
"When Mrs. Marcos visited Ninoy in the hospital and suggested that Ninoy be operated in the States, Ninoy took the offer and Imelda, right there and then, directed all the pertinent agencies - the Philippine Army, Immigration, for release papers, exit permits, DFA passports - to facilitate Ninoy's immediate travel to the US."
Sen. Arroyo recalled that Mrs. Marcos even expedited, with the US ambassador, the release of US visas for Ninoy and his group. Ninoy, Cory and party then flew to the US where Ninoy had surgery.
Soon after his recovery, Arroyo added that Ninoy, a free man albeit with a death sentence on his head, pursued his crusade to battle the Marcos dictatorship.
Ironically, Ninoy was gunned down on Aug. 21, 1983 shortly after his plane landed the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, now named after the fallen senator who fought against the dictatorship.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. called on the public to respect the privacy of Mrs. Arroyo, who is set to undergo a third critical surgery to repair her damaged cervical spine.
He said lawmakers were saddened over the health condition of Arroyo and he and his colleagues have relayed their best wishes to her through members of her family.
"We were all unhappy that she's going through this (medical) process as a person, as a member of the House and as somebody we have known for a long time," Belmonte told dzRH.
He said he personally relayed his concern to Arroyo's son, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo.
"I'm sure the others have said the same, but you know let's respect her privacy because at this stage, she really needs privacy, not like we should keep calling her or tell her problems or she might be agitated," he said.
Arroyo is semi-immobilized by metal contraption over her head and shoulders that would prevent the movement of her neck that has been operated on twice in three weeks.
Doctors have set a third and two-stage spinal surgery for Arroyo on Tuesday that would get grafts from her pelvic bone and attach them to her cervical spine to strengthen it, in preparation for the reattachment of titanium implants and another operation in the future. With Paolo Romero
GMA Spokesman described some administration officials 'hungry vultures'
[Photo - Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda]
By Paolo Romero - Lawyer Raul Lambino, spokesman of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo described yesterday some officials of the Aquino administration as "hungry vultures" circling over the ailing former chief executive and the members of her family.
Lambino accused Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda of using "gutter language" in attacking him through the media.
He said in the administration's effort "to continue misleading the public and to camouflage their incompetence, President Aquino's political orchestra led Lacierda keep singing and playing unsymphonic tune of incessant and unhampered persecution of the Arroyos."
"At these times when the Arroyos are not in their best health condition, President Aquino, his political allies and operators, and his Cabinet men keep acting like hungry vultures in humiliating their intended prey," Lambino said in a statement.
"That goes to show the kind of character of persons now enjoying the perks of their positions all funded by taxpayers' money," he said.
He said "the issuance of watch list orders, fishing investigations, intimidations that cost innocent lives, and other forms of illegal machinations are employed by the Aquino henchmen and attack dogs just to satisfy their personal lusts of pinning down the Arroyos."
Lambino noted that one of the private prosecutors acting as counsel of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre had accused Lacierda of lobbying for former governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to be a state witness against the Arroyos.
Arroyo, who faces five plunder complaints, remains at the intensive care unit of the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City as doctors treat the infection in her cervical spine that was operated on last month.
Doctors said the former leader could remain in the hospital anywhere from four to eight weeks.– With Aie Balagtas See
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