Para el Hospital General de México no tiene
más que elogios: “El hospital es un producto
del tiempo y la evolución. El director actual y
algunosotrosdirectores recientes lehandedi-
cadomucho para promover la calidad en los
servicios, en laenseñanza y tener los recursos
técnicos y materiales necesarios. El Hospital
General deMéxico es una instituciónmuy im-
portante, cuna de la medicina mexicana. Me
interesamucho que esto se lo hagan saber a
sus lectores”, aclaró el doctor.
I
nvestigación
clínica
Padredeochohijos,yabuelode23nietosy tres
bisnietos, FernandoOrtizMonasteriosecarac-
terizapor ser unhombre inventivoyoriginal. En
algunaépocadesuvidapracticó lacirugía fetal
enmonos y en una sola ocasión en humanos,
con el objetivo de probar su planteamiento de
que si se producía una herida en la piel de un
feto ésta no iba a cicatrizar sino a regenerarse.
“En realidad estábamosmal”, reconoció el doc-
tor, ysostuvoqueuna intervencióndeese riesgo
no se justifica para remediar un labio hendido;
“tal vez para otros padecimientos más graves,
sí, peroparaesto, no”.
“Lo que yo he hecho toda mi vida es investi-
gación clínica, y estoy convencido de que los
médicosmexicanos tenemosungrannichoen
esta área, ya que en el país se carece de re-
cursosmaterialespero secuenta con un gran
número de pacientes con los que podemos
hacer un trabajo clínico a través de darles seguimiento a largo plazo, eso proporciona un
aprendizaje permanente y es loque yo he hecho a lo largode 50 años”, aseguró.
Para ser médicos exitosos, dijo, se tiene que trabajar muchas horas los siete días de la se-
mana. Sostuvo que sólo actuando como investigadores los médicos transitarán por la ruta
paragenerar nuevoconocimiento y ofrecer alternativas a lospacientes, enespecial aquienes
viven con daños congénitos.
Los ochohijos del doctorFernandoOrtizMonasterio
witnessed his mastery, and the place where he remained about 30 years
later to join the ranks of theHospitalManuel GeaGonzález.
And he remembers: "The General Hospital was my home, where I spent
most ofmymedical life. In terms of the number of patients, it was a huge
wealthaswell as theverywell preparedpeople inmanyfields ofmedicine.
Forme, it was a great experience working in the hospital and a difficult
decision to go elsewhere”.
For the General Hospital of Mexico he has nothing but praise: “The hos-
pital is a product of time and evolution. The current director and some
other recent directors have devoted much to promote quality services in
education and have the necessary technical andmaterial resources. The
General Hospital of Mexico is a very important institution, the cradle of
Mexicanmedicine. I am very interested that your let your readers know
this”, the doctor emphasized.
C
linical
R
esearch
Father of eight children and grandfather of 23 grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren, FernandoOrtizMonasterio is aman known for be-
ing inventiveandoriginal.At one time inhis lifehepracticed fetal surgery
inmonkeys and only once in humans, in order to prove his point that if
therewasawound in the fetus’ skin thiswasnot goingheal but regenerate.
"Actuallywewerewrong," the doctor admitted and contended that such a
risky intervention does not justify the correction of a cleft lip, "perhaps for
other conditions of major consequences, but not for this one”.
"What I have done all my life is clinical research, and I am convinced
thatMexicanphysicians havea great niche in this areaand that the coun-
try lacks thematerial resources but have a large number of patients with
whomwe can do clinical work through long-term followup. This provides
for a lifelong learning and that iswhat I've done over 50 years, "he said.
To be a successful doctor, he said, youhave towork long hours seven days
aweek. He explained that only by acting asmedical investigators doctors
will transit the route for generating new knowledge and provide alterna-
tives to patients, especially those livingwith birth injuries.
The work and research conducted by Ortiz Monasterio have benefited
thousands of patients, whose life has been transformed. The doctor, also
known as the father ofMexican surgery, has treated childrenwith a hole
at the site of the posterior lip of the mouth, a deformed nose or divided
into twoparts; adultswhose eyes fall out of the face because thewatershed
head is insufficient to house them, people without chin or eyes, nose and
mouth with asymmetry marks, to whom he offered an alternative aes-
thetic symmetry and functionality.
Dr. Ortiz Monasterio created an original method, applied in several
countries, to correct cleft lipand cleft palate by craniofacial surgery.With
this technique he has operated over 24 000 children to correct birth de-
fects that affect language, facial structure and self-esteem.
He believes that genetic research is the future of medicine. In the field
of aesthetics it will allow doctors to identify the genes responsible for
themalformations. "Somedaywewillmaster geneticmanipulationand
then we will be able to prevent or diagnose in an early stage all kinds
of malformations”.
W
ould
you
like
to
sendamessage
todoctorsworking
in
the
G
eneral
H
ospital of
M
exico
?
“There are very intelligent people in the hospital. My advice is that even
at his office, a doctor must think like a scientist. It is unacceptable that
they do not; that he or she doesn’t ask questions, that they don’t analyze.
Donot believe anything; the dogmas should beunacceptable to you; what-
ever I say, books ormagazines, do not accept it, question everything”.
