The first successful pediatric liver transplant by a team of all-Filipino medical team from the newly established Center for Liver Disease Management and Transplantation of the Medical City was conducted last January 7, 2011.
Three-year-old Catherine Erica Buenaventura who suffered from End-Stage liver disease with complications was the first pediatric patient. The team removed Erica’s entire liver and replacing it with a graft or a portion of her uncle’s liver. According to the president and CEO of Medical City Dr. Alfredo Bengzon, this is the first time a successful pediatric liver transplant has been performed in the Philippines by an all-Filipino medical staff.