HISTORY OF COI

By Dr. Mario L. Chan

In 1999, amidst the changing landscape of orthopedic practice in Cebu City, five young orthopedic surgeons dared to be different. It began with a meeting at Yumyum Tree Restaurant, located within what was once the iconic Rustan’s along Mango Avenue. There, these five orthopods aimed to offer the locals of Cebu and its neighboring islands highly specialized orthopedic care, which they predicted was in its initial stages in the expanding metropolis outside Metro Manila. With full determination to succeed, it became their mission to provide world–class orthopedic care, no longer necessitating patients to go to Manila for treatment.

Jose Z. Flordelis, Mario L. Chan, Agustin Miguel G. Morales, Robinson T. Uy, and Emmanuel C. Hortelano – these were the orthopedic surgeons who spearheaded the formation of Cebu Orthopaedic Institute. They were soon joined by two more exemplary physicians: Ramon B. Gustilo, who was globally renowned for his work on open fractures and at that time was retiring from his practice in Minnessota, and Roberto U. Velasco, a Cebuano surgeon from Kaiser Permanente.

Cebu Orthopaedic Institute (COI) was successfully launched at the old Marriott Hotel (now Seda Hotel) on June 6^th 1999. Our clinic then was located at the basement of Chong Hua Medical Arts Building. Through time, the institute gained prominence and treated orthopedic patients from Cebu and neighboring regions in Visayas and Mindanao.

Growth was inevitable with the influx of new orthopedic talents from 2002 to 2005 – Jose Antonio G. San Juan, Leopoldo J. Jiao III, Richard V. Condor, and Judith Valerie G. Akol. As the group continued to flourish, COI quickly made its name in the field of orthopedic surgery in Cebu City.

2011 was a turning point, as decisions to move to a bigger venue were made. The institute was transferred to a mall-based establishment at Robinsons Cybergate, our current home. This move to a larger and more accessible venue also allowed us to expand our orthopedic armamentarium, as we established our own physical therapy division, where patients with various orthopedic conditions can undergo supervised and individualized rehabilitation programs. Soon after, we acquired our own radiologic services in the form of x-rays and musculoskeletal ultrasound. These provided convenient access to orthopedic imaging that facilitated prompt diagnosis within the same day.

Together with the expansion of the facilities, there was a need for more orthopedic specialists in COI. It was also at this time that after a period of six years, the group decided to invite another orthopedic spine surgeon, Jose Joefrey F. Arbatin, bringing the family to nine active partners.

As the clinic grew bigger, the demand for a variety of subspecialized orthopedic surgeons was apparent. By 2013 we brought in Miguel C. Go, Dilbert A. Monicit, and Philip Ian G. Barlaan into the COI family, further adding experts in musculoskeletal tumor, joint replacement and reconstruction, and hand surgery. And by 2014, Oliver Y. Ong was invited as one of the new spine specialists in the group.

With the growing population in Cebu City and the increasing need for specialized orthopedic care, it was not long until new faces joined the group. In 2016 came Jonathan O. Flordelis and Precious Grace B. Handog. Even at the height of the pandemic in 2020, COI continued to serve, inviting Jan Princeton Y. Lim, another orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee reconstruction, to join the team.

It soon became apparent that with the presence of orthopedic experts all with the same mission of providing specialized care, there was a need for further innovation and advancement. In 2022, COI opened its own DOH-licensed and PHIC–accredited ambulatory surgical center, complete with intraoperative C-arm imaging, anesthesia machine, and pneumatic tourniquet. This new installation of a major operating room, in addition to the two minor treatment operating rooms of the clinic, allowed us to perform selected orthopedic procedures at the patient’s convenience on an outpatient basis.

In 2023, the expansion continued as the COI family also welcomedHester Renel L. Palma, Paula Veronica R. Palma, and Charles Andrew R. Chu-Santos into the team of orthopedic surgeons.

Even our staff has grown from 6 employees in the early years to 25 staff, including administrative and accounting personnel, nursing and surgical assists, casting technicians, physical therapists, radiologic technicians, and messengers. While more specialists continued to join the group, some have also left to pursue a different path in their orthopedic practice. The current orthopedic partners are as follows here.

Today, our institution is the most complete orthopedic group practice with surgeons specializing in orthopedic trauma, minimally invasive surgery, musculoskeletal tumor, sports medicine, joint replacement, hand and microvascular surgery, pediatric orthopedics, and spine surgery.

Our desire to give back has given us the impetus to share our orthopedic knowledge to the medical community, as we recognize them as critical partners in the field of orthopedics. Every year on the month of June, COI holds an annual scientific symposium, discussing various orthopedic topics for general medical practitioners ranging from sports injuries, hand injuries, back pain, orthopedic trauma and spine conditions.

COI’s growth is not just about expanding its services or increasing its team; it’s about creating a one-stop shop for world-class orthopedic care that puts patients at the center of everything we do. We take pride in being part of this growing family and strive to involve each staff member as an integral part of our team.

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Room 401 - Level 4 Robinson's Cybergate-Cebu, J. Llorente St., Cor Don Gil Garcia St., Cebu City

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(032) 239 - 2443 / 09173085269 / 09228117757

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