In the course of his decades-long career, this orthopedic surgeon has not just mended many a broken bone and rehabilitated countless patients. As medical center chief of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), he, too, has grown the country’s premier orthopedics and rehabilitation specialty hospital by investing in new technologies, building infrastructure and, more importantly, inspiring his team of medical professionals to do what they do best — serving the people.
By JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ
Photography by RXANDY CAPINPIN
As French philosopher Albert Camus wrote in “The Myth of Sisyphus,” “one must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
To those who are unfamiliar with Greek mythology, Sisyphus, who was punished by Hades to roll a boulder up and down a hill for eternity, illustrates the futility and absurdity of everyday life — a fate that many men and women seem to suffer, after doing the same things for a while.
But for orthopedic surgeon Jose Brittanio “Brix” Pujalte Jr., the last line in Camus’ essay carries
a more profound and even inspiring meaning. “Even if we have what some may call short, brutish and wretched lives, we try to make meaning out of it. And for me, that means being of service to other people, so that when you leave this world, you leave it a better place,” he starts off.
And this is exactly what Pujalte has been doing in the past 33 years.
“I was taught and programmed to serve in government,” says Pujalte, who dreamt of becoming a doctor on the knee of his father, Dr. Jose Magallanes Pujalte, who was also the POC’s medical center chief during the first Marcos administration. “In his later years, I would bring him to my office, which used to be his office. It was something special, a bond between father and son.”
The story doesn’t end there either. While his father passed away in 2019 at the ripe old age of 90, the next chapter in their family’s orthopedic journey continues to be penned. The proud son and doting father tells PeopleAsia that one of his daughters is currently studying to be a doctor.
Pujalte chose to serve at the Department of Health in 1991, soon after he obtained his degree in Medicine at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in 1990. In 1994, he joined the Philippine Orthopedic Center as an orthopedic resident, before he rose through the ranks.
“I worked in public hospitals because that’s where the cases are. Surgery is a cerebral and manual skill. You have your brain, but your hands have to work. And for your hands to get better, you have to operate on as many cases as you can. And there are more patients to be found in government facilities,” he shares.
Boon & bone
As medical center chief of the POC since 2014, Pujalte has had the pleasure — and pressure — of ensuring that it performs according to its mandate. The 700-bed hospital, whose emergency room serves an average 110 patients a day, and whose outpatient department receives about 500 to 600 patients daily, is the country’s national specialty center, not just for orthopedics, but also for rehabilitation medicine.
“We go from strength to strength. The hospital has been in existence since 1945. And with the focus now on orthopedics and rehabilitation medicine, we find that we’re also moving into more advanced technology. We already have minimally invasive surgeries for the spine, joint replacement and sports medicine. For rehab medicine, we have already acquired robotic equipment for faster and more high-quality physical therapy, and for the treatment of patients who need to regain optimal function,” shares Pujalte, who was also president of the Philippine Orthopedic Association (2009) and the ASEAN Orthopedic Association (2010).
Under his watch, the POC also opened a new, six-story building that became operational in 2022. In it, one would find the latest orthopedic diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative technology, which Filipinos can use through their Philhealth coverage under the Universal Health Care law.
POC also posted an income of P200 million in 2021, as a direct result of Pujalte’s leadership, which motivated the workforce to continue performing orthopedic surgeries and services at the emergency room and outpatient department, even during the thick of the pandemic.
While Pujalte is no stranger to waking up in the middle of the night to perform emergency operations and respond to trauma cases — mostly from vehicular accidents — he also notes that orthopedic cases are more varied than one would imagine. “Most of the cases we have at the POC would be fractures of the hip in the elderly. The sad part is that most of our patients only find out that they have brittle bones after they’ve been broken,” he says. There’s also the classic rayuma (arthritis), which in worst-case scenarios, could end up in something as drastic as a joint replacement.
As they say though, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. And this surgeon has a reminder for everyone, especially Filipino women, who are at higher risk of eventually developing osteoporosis. “We have our maximum bone density in our late twenties and early thirties. After that, we need to keep on increasing our calcium deposits, so that our bone density doesn’t decline too quickly over time,” he says. This means that we need to not just drink milk, but also eat green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, kale, bok choy and lettuce, and consume fish, such as salmon, as often as we can. More importantly, Pujalte reminds everyone to take calcium together with Vitamin D for better absorption by the bones.
Despite his successes at the POC and his prolific career as a surgeon, Pujalte adds that even a medical field such as orthopedic surgery — which is a popular choice for specialization among younger doctors — faces some challenges in the Philippines.
“The more challenging part is keeping orthopedics at a high level of proficiency and productivity, making sure that our Philippine orthopedic surgeons are properly deployed even in far-flung areas,” states Pujalte, further noting that there are geographically underserved areas in the Philippines when it comes to this field.
Writer, family man and more
Outside of the operating room and his office, Pujalte is a man of many interests.
For one, he is an accomplished writer who has authored three books on general medicine topics. He has written the orthopedic chapter in a local pediatric textbook, co-authored with his father, ER Orthopedics, and has been published in local and international scientific journals. He also released a self-published book called Boning Down: Orthopaedic Juvenilia and Other Unusual Essays.
In his younger years, this athletic gentleman also used to run in marathons and fence. He even established the first Karate Club at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, a few years after he became a black belter at age 15. These days, he finds pleasure in being an advanced open water diver.
Of all these roles though, perhaps none comes as close to his heart as being father to three daughters. His face lights up as he describes his life as a family man. “I would rather have strong women than weak men,” Pujalte says with laughter, adding that they inspire him to live life to the fullest.
Unlike Sisyphus, Dr. Brix Pujalte is, indeed, in a happy place — one we need not imagine in order to be true.
Art direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERA
Styling by EDRICK PAZ
Grooming by KLENG TOTANES
Shot on location at CONRAD MANILA
