University of Philippines Manila

UP Manila Mourns Passing of Titan of PH Orthopedics

Text by Martin R. Racza with inputs from the Philippine Orthopedic Institute Inc., the University of Minnesota, Dost-PCHRD, and Digicast Negros

“He helped many people in our hometown. Such a noble and selfless person.”
“So big yet so humble, just a regular guy.”

The words uttered above hail Dr. Ramon Balgoa Gustilo, alumnus of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila and a trailblazer in the field of Philippine orthopedics, who passed away on Dec. 19, 2024 at the age of 94.

One of the most illustrious members of the UP College of Medicine Class of 1957, Dr. Gustilo completed an orthopedic residency program at the University of Minnesota’s Medical School in 1964 and acquired his Diplomate from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1968. 

A Giant of Philippine Orthopedics

Dr. Gustilo catalyzed several important innovations in orthopedics and holds a number of patents. He provided low-cost orthopedic implants of his own design throughout Southeast Asia with Orthopedic Innovations, a company he founded. 

He also played a key role in building and strengthening connections among the orthopedic global community. He has catalyzed international relationships, such as building a sister-hospital connection between Nigaata University in Japan and Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, and mentored more than 120 students and colleagues worldwide, who in turn have returned to their respective countries and made integral contributions in orthopedics.

Dr. Gustilo’s international reputation as a leader in the field of orthopaedic surgery was first gained due to his painstaking work classifying open fractures, and recommending treatment based on classification.  He developed a classification system for open fractures and traumatic injuries that allows trauma surgeons around the world to compare results on similar injuries. This classification system was instrumental in improving the care and outcome of severe fractures throughout the world.  His leadership in the care of patients with orthopaedic injuries resulted in his establishment of the Orthopaedic Trauma Hospital Association and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association.  He was founding President of both of these organizations.

Along with his work on open fractures, Dr. Gustilo established a rare expertise in musculoskeletal infections, and established a Musculoskeletal Sepsis research unit that remains pre-eminent in the world for basic research, and for recommending optimal clinical treatments.

Dr. Gustilo holds 18 patents on devices, instrumentations, and replacements for various orthopedic cases. Among his inventions include one of the earliest total knee replacements in the world known as Gustilo knee, the first hip replacement approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use without bone cement called the BIAS Hip, and a total knee replacement system called the Genesis knee. He is also credited for developing the world’s most widely used classification system for open fractures in the world, the Gustilo Open Fracture Classification System.

Among his achievements is his most recent selection in the 2024 “World’s Top 2 Percent Scientists” list of Stanford University. He received the University of Minnesota Alumni Association Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals in 2014, and the UPMAS Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1957.

The Man from Manapla

Dr. Gustilo never forgot his roots. He put time and effort into giving back to the Philippines, and in particular Manapla, Negros Occidental, the town in which he grew up. There, he had established and funded numerous public buildings, and ran a number of companies that employed scores of local workers.

It was his life’s work that became the cornerstone of his vision to establish an ambulatory surgical center to be built in his hometown. The Dr. Ramon B. Gustilo Hospital, completed in 2018 and approved by the Department of Health as a Level 1 hospital in Dec. 2019, is a 5-storey building with a 38-bed capacity equipped with the latest diagnostic equipment and ancillary services. It utilizes the Gustilo Mobile Medical Records System, an innovative and paperless medical record system, a first in the Philippines.

Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante III, mourning the loss of the doctor who was hailed an outstanding Negrense in 2011, said, “We have lost a world esteemed kasimanwa and we are now in a state of mourning. We offer all our Manaplahaon prayers to our dearest Dr. Ramon Gustilo. We will always love him.” #