{"id":15719,"date":"2022-12-03T06:55:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-03T16:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=15719"},"modified":"2022-12-03T07:20:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T17:20:31","slug":"pinoy-surgeon-coins-transfusion-free-medicine-for-bloodless-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2022\/12\/03\/pinoy-surgeon-coins-transfusion-free-medicine-for-bloodless-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinoy Surgeon Coins\u00a0\u201cTransfusion Free Medicine\u201d\u00a0For Bloodless Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Elpidio R. Estioko

<\/em>Do you know that the medical term\u00a0\u201cTransfusion Free Medicine\u201d for<\/em> bloodless surgery, which is now widely accepted by the medical profession, was coined by a Filipino surgeon?

Dr. Manuel R. Estioko, who is a surgeon and cardiologist, coined the phrase \u201cTransfusion Free\u201d\u00a0for the first time in 1996.

He thought it is the appropriate terminology because there is always some blood loss in even the smallest, simplest operation (hence not really \u201cbloodless\u201d). Bloodless was used much earlier and had been around, but many adopted\u00a0Transfusion Free\u00a0extensively since then.

A patient named Walker Swofford, knowing that it would conflict with his religious beliefs, puts off having open heart surgery for as long as possible \u2013 until his symptoms got so bad that he would get winded just walking to his car.

Swofford, an Inglewood resident, told The Daily Breeze <\/em>in a 2011 article: \u201cI was in denial at first\u2026 I didn\u2019t want to accept it.\u201d

His physician said he needs donor blood during a heart procedure. But Swofford\u2019s religion and faith, Jehovah\u2019s Witness, prohibits the practice.

Later on, the 60-year-old Swofford learned about transfusion free surgery and Dr. Estioko, a surgeon who came to Torrance Memorial Medical Center a year prior.

\u201cAll of the evidence supports the conclusion that patients who do not receive blood have better outcomes. Both short and long term, patients do better.\u201d Dr. Estioko told Daily Breeze<\/em>. He first began performing transfusion-free surgery in 1996.

The procedure requires more planning to ensure the safety of transfusion-free surgery. Patients are screened for anemia and other blood disorders and are watched closely for any signs of bleeding or hypertension. Blood loss during the procedure is minimized by using a range of techniques including a special scalpel that burns the tissue.

The surgery is greatly welcomed by the Jehovah\u2019s Wit[1]ness community. In the 1940s, it formally banned the practice of receiving blood transfusions as they believe that blood is sacred which is something that cannot be duplicated based in biblical scripture.

\u201cHe assured me that he could do this procedure,\u201d Swofford told Daily Breeze.<\/em> \u201cI was very relieved.\u201d

The surgery was successful. Swofford\u2019s recovery lasted about a week. He also told Daily Breeze <\/em>that he felt much better.

Dr. Estioko is a pioneer in transfusion free medicine. He has been performing cardiothoracic surgery without blood transfusions for more than 30 years.

\u201cThe appeal of transfusion-free medicine has been fueled by the public\u2019s growing awareness of health issues such as blood-borne viruses, bacteria and other infectious agents, even in safe donated blood,\u201d Dr. Estioko told Santa Monica Mirror <\/em>in 2005.

\u201cEliminating transfusions eliminates the unnecessary exposure to pathogens carried by donors and offers important benefits to patients, including safety, cost savings and faster recovery. The medical literature also supports that there is less incidence of infection among these patients,\u201d he added.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Dr. Estioko received his medical degree from University of Santo Tomas. He was a surgeon and instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York for many years. He currently practices cardiovascular surgery in Santa Monica, California.

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO<\/strong> was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and a multi-awarded journalist here in the US. For feedbacks, comments\u2026 please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Elpidio R. Estioko Do you know that the medical term\u00a0\u201cTransfusion Free Medicine\u201d for bloodless…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32,20,4,12],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=300%2C198&ssl=1",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=640%2C421&ssl=1",640,421,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=640%2C421&ssl=1",640,421,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=600%2C428&ssl=1",600,428,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=600%2C428&ssl=1",600,428,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=650%2C428&ssl=1",650,428,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=540%2C316&ssl=1",540,316,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"As I See It<\/a> Featured<\/a> Features<\/a> Mainland<\/a>","tag_info":"Mainland","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/as-i-see-it-photo.jpg?fit=650%2C428&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15735,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15719\/revisions\/15735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}