Asian Hospital targets 14,000-case hernia gap with dedicated centre

The specialised centre aims to reduce treatment delays and improve outcomes for complex abdominal wall surgeries nationwide.

Asian Hospital and Medical Center has opened the Philippines’ first dedicated hernia centre as rising surgical demand, ageing demographics, and treatment gaps increase pressure on hospitals to improve specialised care access and patient outcomes.

According to Dr. Beaver Tamesis, CEO and President of Asian Hospital and Medical Center, hernia cases are increasing as the population ages, with many patients requiring more advanced treatment before complications become life-threatening.

“Up to about one out of five individuals can actually come in with a hernia,” Tamesis said. “These hernias are not necessarily benign. They can actually become very complicated and actually lead to death.”

Dr. Carlo Ejercito, Head of the Asian Institute of Surgery at Asian Hospital and Medical Center, said the hospital currently handles around 100 to 120 hernia cases annually. Based on Philippine General Hospital estimates and international incidence rates, he said the Philippines could be seeing around 14,000 new hernia cases every year.

“So that's a significant number, and we're only seeing about 0.2% of that volume,” Ejercito said. “If you have a dedicated center to address these kinds of problems, patients will know where to go.”

The discussion highlighted how the centre aims to close treatment gaps by concentrating surgeons, specialists, and support teams into one coordinated programme focused on abdominal wall surgery.

“With the specialised center, you actually now have a team of specialists who do nothing but this type of procedure, so the skill set dramatically improves,” Tamesis said.

Ejercito added that the multidisciplinary setup also improves efficiency by reducing unnecessary materials, streamlining treatment planning, and lowering avoidable costs for both private patients and HMOs.

The hospital is also shifting beyond routine hernia repairs towards more advanced abdominal wall reconstruction and complex ventral hernia procedures that require coordinated surgical management.

According to Tamesis, the hernia centre could become a model for future multidisciplinary programmes inside the hospital, including vascular and vein-related treatment centres.

“We try to develop centers of excellence,” Tamesis said. “Having specialised people who really do nothing but this, focusing on the patient, I think will really translate to better outcomes for the patient.”