The Department was started over half a century ago by preeminent Eye Specialist and one of the pioneers of modern Ophthalmology in the Philippines, Dr. Carlos L. Sevilla. Over the years, the Department has been at the forefront of delivering excellent eye care through cutting edge technology, world-class clinical expertise, and the MakatiMed brand of compassionate care.
The Department provides routine and urgent eye care services for a wide range of ophthalmic conditions. Its roster of consultants is composed of board-certified eye doctors, who completed their specialty and subspecialty trainings in some of the finest institutions in the country and abroad. The Department is also a research and training center, committed to training future generations of excellent, compassionate, competent eye doctors.
Subspecialties:
- Cataract & Refractive Surgery
Deals with the management and surgical correction of simple and complex cases of cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye), as well as refractive errors using the latest developments in diagnostic and surgical equipment and intraocular lens design to achieve the patient’s specific vision needs.
- Comprehensive Ophthalmology
Handles general ophthalmic care for all conditions of the eye, including cataracts. The Section handles routine eye exams, as well as ophthalmic screening for systemic disorders.
- Corneal & External Disease
Focuses on diseases of the front part of the eye, including the cornea, conjunctiva, and the anterior segment. Cornea Specialists provide care for a variety of conditions, including dry eyes, corneal and conjunctival conditions, infections, trauma, and other hereditary and acquired conditions of the anterior segment. They also perform highly complex surgeries, such as corneal transplantation and ocular surface reconstruction.
Deals with the diagnosis and treatment of slowly progressive loss of vision from optic nerve damage, often associated with elevated eye pressure. Specialists use state-of-the-art diagnostic and monitoring tools and employ evidence-based medical and surgical methods to control the disease and to preserve vision.
- Low Vision & Vision Rehabilitation
Offers vision rehabilitation to patients with moderate to severe vision loss, enabling them to maximize their remaining vision by using devices or adapting skills to improve their quality of life.
Specializes in treating patients with ophthalmic symptoms of neurological disorders, including visual conditions associated with strokes, tumors, and degenerative neurological disorders.
An emerging subspecialty devoted to understanding the genetic basis of hereditary eye diseases, obtaining accurate diagnosis through molecular testing, counseling for patients and their families, and providing potential treatment with gene therapy to preserve or restore vision.
- Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus
Specializes in eye conditions that may result in significant visual conditions in children – anywhere from diseases related to prematurity, congenital and acquired conditions, as well as the more common errors of refraction. The Section also specializes in managing pediatric and adult patients with misaligned eyes (strabismus) and amblyopia (lazy eyes) with spectacles, extraocular muscle surgery, or a combination of treatment options.
- Plastic, Lacrimal, and Orbit
Handles cosmetic and reconstructive procedures on the eyelids, orbit, and ocular adnexae. Surgeries done include lid reconstruction, brow and lid ptosis repair, lacrimal drainage procedures, enucleation, evisceration, orbital implants, and repair of orbital fractures.
Focuses on the evaluation and treatment of patients with diseases of the back of the eye, known as the retina and the vitreous body. Common conditions treated include diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and retinal detachment.
Focuses on managing and treating patients with ocular inflammatory disorders, as well as patients who present with complications from systemic inflammatory or infectious diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Residency Training Program in Ophthalmology
The Department offers a three-year training programs which is accredited by the Philippine Board of Ophthalmology (PBO). The program is designed to produced clinically and surgically competent Ophthalmologists, who are professional, ethical, and with a strong sense of social responsibility. Over the last three (3) decades, the program has produced numerous specialists serving in different parts of the country, as well as being recognized leaders in the field. It has maintained a 100% passing rate in the PBO Board Certification for the last three (3) years.
Ophthalmology Surgery
The Department’s capabilities encompass a wide range of ophthalmic procedures addressing concerns related to cataract, glaucoma, vitreoretinal diseases, orbit-oculoplastic, cornea-refractive, and pediatric surgery. The Department is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that is comparable to any specialty center anywhere in the country and the region.
Members of the staff have received their training in some of the most prestigious institutions, both in the country and abroad, and are recognized experts in the field who are ready to deliver the MakatiMed brand of care to patients anytime.
Additionally, enhanced infection prevention guidelines are closely adhered to as the Department further strengthens its commitment to providing patients with a safe place to receive ophthalmologic surgical needs during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The following are some of the more common surgical procedures performed at MakatiMed:
- Advanced suture-less cataract surgery
- Corneal transplantation
- Glaucoma surgery
- Orbital surgery, cosmetic lid surgery, and lid and upper facial reconstructive procedures
- Pediatric Ophthalmic surgeries including pediatric cataracts, retinopathy of prematurity, and ocular misalignments (squint)
- Pterygium excision
- Suture-less, small-incision vitreoretinal procedures for retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, and other vision-threatening vitreoretinal conditions
Diagnostic Center
The Eye Care Center (Dr. Carlos L. Sevilla Center) is a diagnostic and laser treatment facility offering a comprehensive set of testing and corrective procedures for eye care. The Center combines the expertise of the country’s finest Ophthalmologists with the latest and most progressive treatment technologies to provide diagnosis and treatment for various eye diseases, including, but not limited to, cataract, glaucoma, and diseases of the retina, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Services include:
- Biometry (A-scan)
- Biometry (Non-contact)
- Central Corneal Thickness (CCT)
- Corneal Topography
- Disc Photo
- Endothelial Cell Count
- Eye Osmolarity Test
- Eye Ultrasound (B-scan)
- Fluorescein Angiography
- Focal Laser
- Fundus Photo
- Ganglion Cell Analysis (GCA)
- Grid Laser
- Laser Indirect Ophthalmoscopy
- Laser Iridotomy
- Macular Pigment Optical Density
- Optical Coherence Angiography
- Optical Coherence Tomography (macula, nerve, anterior segment)
- Pan Retinal Photocoagulation
- Trabeculoplasty
- Transpupillary Thermoplasty
- Transscleral Cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC)
- Visual Field Test (VFT)/Perimetry
- YAG Capsulotomy
Chairperson of the Department of Ophthalmology:
Sherman O. Valero, MD
Section Head of Cataract & Refractive Surgery:
Edward Dennis G. Cruz, MD
Section Head of Comprehensive Ophthalmology:
Alvin M. Santos, MD
Section Head of Corneal & External Disease:
Maria Joanna M. Rodriguez-Chan, MD
Section Head of Glaucoma:
Ma. Zita Zagala-Meriales, MD
Section Head of Low Vision & Vision Rehabilitation:
Carmela H. Ongsiako, MD
Section of Neuro-Ophthalmology:
Jaime Lynne Ching-Narciso, MD
Section Head of Ocular Genetics:
Manuel Benjamin B. Ibañez, MD
Section Head of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus:
Manuel Benjamin B. Ibañez IV, MD
Section Head of Plastic, Lacrimal, and Orbit:
Leonardo R. Mangubat, MD
Section Head of Retina & Vitreous:
Sherman O. Valero, MD
Section Head of Uveitis:
Neil Gregory L. Onghanseng, MD
