Cataract Subspecialists

Cataract Sub-specialists

CESAR RAMON G. ESPIRITU, MD

Dr. Espiritu practices at the Associated Eye Specialists, the American Eye Center and serves as vice-chairman of the Manila Doctors Hospital ophthalmology department.

He earned his degree as Doctor of Medicine at the University of the Philippines and obtained his ophthalmology training from the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital. He completed a fellowship in cornea, uveitis and infectious diseases at the Francis I. Proctor Foundation, University of California in San Francisco.

Dr. Espiritu is a founding member of the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Philippine Ocular Inflammation Society and the Cornea Club of the Philippines of which he serves as current president. He is also a member of the board of examiners of the Philippine Board of Ophthalmology, the course director of the Center for Ophthalmic Microsurgical Skills Advancement, and the chief of service of the cataract section of the department of ophthalmology of The Medical City Hospital.

He is recognized as one of the top cataract surgeons and key opinion leaders locally and internationally. Testament to this is the total of twelve live cataract surgery demonstrations that he has done in eye conventions abroad since 2005 (Jakarta, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Bali, Lahore, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hanoi, Chicago, Berlin and Sydney). He is also a much sought after speaker and moderator on his key interests which are infectious diseases, corneal surgery and cataract surgery.

BENJAMIN GERARDO G. CABRERA, MD

Co-founded the Associated Eye Specialists and practices at the American Eye Center in Manila. His training resume includes ophthalmology training at the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital, clinical fellowship in Anterior Segment and External Disease at the University of the Philippines Institute of Ophthalmology and a clinical fellowship in Low Vision and Vision Rehabilitation at the National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled in Saitama, Japan.

Dr. Cabrera has been a board member of the Capitol Medical Center, an examiner for the Philippine Board of Ophthalmology and a clinical associate professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital.

He is the founding president of the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, a member of the Corneal Club of the Philippines and of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He heads the Evidence-Based Interest Group in Ophthalmology, a committee of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology.

Currently, he is a faculty member of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health and faculty of the Center for Micro-surgical Skills Advancement at The Medical City. He holds clinics at the American Eye Center, Capitol Medical Center and is a visiting consultant at The Medical City.

VICTOR JOSE L. CAPARAS, MD, MPH

Practices at the Associated Eye Specialists and the American Eye Center Manila. He obtained his ophthalmology training from the University of Philippines–Philippine General Hospital and completed fellowships in cornea/anterior segment at the University of the Philippines Institute of Ophthalmology and the Schepens Eye Research Institute of the Harvard Medical School. He also holds a masters degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Caparas is a founding member of the Cornea Club of the Philippines, the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the International Ocular Surface Society. He is a member of the prestigious Cornea Society (formerly the Castroviejo Society) and is member and country liaison for the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society. He is a frequent lecturer here and abroad on ocular surface topics such as Dry Eye, allergic conjunctivitis, and ocular infections.

In addition to the above, he is Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology of The Medical City, Pasig City, Philippines as well as the head of its Cornea and External Diseases section. He is also immediate past president of the Cornea Club of the Philippines, and vice president of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines. Dr. Caparas is currently Chairman of the Committee on Ethics and Practice Management of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology and is faculty member-in-charge for Ophthalmology of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health.

RICHARD C. KHO, MD

Dr. Richard C. Kho received his ophthalmology training at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences-Philippine General Hospital in 1997. As the department’s Chief Resident in 1998, he pioneered the phacoemulsification training program for residents and consultants of the department. Soon after, he received further training as a Neuro-ophthalmologist at the Jules Stein Eye Institute-UCLA under its program director, Dr. Anthony Arnold. Upon his return to the country in 2001 he joined the Associated Eye Specialists as an Associate Partner and is currently the Clinic Manager of the American Eye Center.

Dr. Kho was a founding member of the Philippine Society of Refractive Surgery and serves as its co-secretary and Scientific Program Director to this day. He is also a founding member of the Neuro-ophthalmology Club of the Philippines and served as President from 2007-2009.

Currently, Dr. Kho divides his time between his clinical practice and academic responsibilities for his two subspecialties. He is a frequent guest speaker both for Neuro-ophthalmology and Cataract and Refractive Surgery. As a Clinical Associate Professor in UP-PGH, he is the current Chief of the Cataract and Refractive Surgery Service and Vice-Chief of the Neuro-ophthalmology Service. In addition, he is a founding faculty of The Medical City-ATENEO-Alcon Cataract and Ocular Microsurgery Training Center and also faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health.

SIDNEY Y. CHENG, MD

Dr. Cheng practices at American Eye Center and is a partner of the Associated Eye Specialists. He specializes in both Cataract surgery and Neuro-Ophthalmology.

He obtained his Medical Degree at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center and finished his residency training in Ophthalmology at The Medical City, Pasig City. Following that, he proceeded to do his fellowship training in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the world-renown Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles.

At present, he is part of the faculty of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, and is also a consultant-trainor for the Center for Ophthalmic Microsurgical Skills and Advancement program, a collaborative project of The Medical City and the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery aimed at upgrading the cataract surgery skills of ophthalmologists-in-practice.

Dr. Cheng is a Founding member and Past President of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Club of the Philippines. Likewise, he is a member of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

ANNA LISA T. YU-MATEO, MD

Dr. Yu-Mateo is a product of the Integrated Arts and Medicine (INTARMed) Program of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. After graduating in 1996, she underwent residency training in Ophthalmology at the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences (DOVS) of the Philippine General Hospital and served as its chief resident in 2000.

She underwent further training in Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery at the University of California Los Angeles–Jules Stein Eye Institute. This was followed by another year of fellowship also in Cornea and Refractive Surgery at the Singapore National Eye Center.

In 2004, she became a partner of Associated Eye Specialists and The American Eye Center. She is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of the DOVS of the UP-PGH and a consultant of its Cataract & Refractive Surgery Service. She is also the chief of the Cornea & External Disease Section of the Rizal Medical Center. Dr. Yu-Mateo is currently an active member of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology, the Philippine Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery and the Cornea Club of the Philippines.

She is married to a stock trader and is a mother to a cute little boy.

JOANNE G. BOLINAO, MD

Dr. Joanne Bolinao obtained her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and she completed her Ophthalmology training at the Manila Doctors Hospital. She then joined the American Eye Center in 2004 for a post-graduate fellowship in cataract and refractive surgery. A second fellowship followed in 2006 when she left to train for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. She then rejoined the Associated Eye Specialists-American Eye Center as its pediatric ophthalmology partner.

Dr. Bolinao is currently vice-president of the Philippine Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (PSPOS) and is a member of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Her other responsibilities include serving as chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at the Rizal Medical Center and currently serves as the PSPOS representative to the Committee on Continuing Education in Ophthalmology (CCEO) of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Bolinao also holds memberships in both the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. She also represents the PSCRS on the CCEO of the PAO. Dr. Bolinao is a member of the ophthalmology faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health and is a visiting consultant at The Medical City and the Manila Doctors Hospital.

MARY ELLEN A. SY , MD

Dr. Sy obtained her ophthalmology training and fellowship in External Diseases and Cornea from the University of Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). She underwent further fellowship training in cataract and refractive surgery at the American Eye Center. She stayed on to practice full-time at the American Eye Center, specializing in LASIK and cataract surgery.

Dr. Sy graduated cum laude from Saint Louis University College of Medicine in 2000. She is also a licensed pharmacist.

Dr. Sy is an active member of the Cornea Club of the Philippines, the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology. She is the representative of the Cornea Club of the Philippines to the Committee on Continuing Education in Ophthalmology (CCEO) of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology.

NILO VINCENT DG. FLORCRUZ , MD

Dr. Nilo FlorCruz practices at the American Eye Center and at the Capitol Medical Center in Manila, Philippines. He obtained his ophthalmology training from the University of Philippines, Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) followed by a fellowship in glaucoma in the same institution. He then pursued further post-fellowship training in glaucoma at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Glaucoma Associates of New York.

Dr. FlorCruz is a member of the Philippine Glaucoma Society, the Philippine Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology. He has authored several scientific articles on his specialty of glaucoma, and is currently involved in international multi-center trials for anti-glaucoma medications.

In addition to the above, he is Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Glaucoma and Cataract sections, UP-PGH. Dr. FlorCruz is currently an Associate Professor at the Section of Ophthalmology, San Beda College of Medicine and a Consultant at the Department of Ophthalmology, East Avenue Medical Center.

Dr. FlorCruz is currently member of the Ethics Review Board of the Philippine General Hospital and is Vice Chair of the Committee on Continuing Education, Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology.