A TRIBUTE TO DR. JOÃO FILIPE DO REGO (THE DOYEN OF GOAN GYNAECOLOGISTS)
By Dr. Francisco Colaço The medical professionall over the world is in a crisis and society no longer holds it in the high esteem it used to in the past. Honest doctors themselves confess that ethical standards among doctors are deteriorating in a downward spiral. It is therefore our duty and obligation to remember those stalwarts of yesteryear who served as role models and whose integrity, action and compassion in the field of medicine left a noble legacy for posterity. As we commemorate the hundredth birth anniversary of beloved Dr. Rego, an obstetrician and gynaecologist of the highest calibre, who died some years ago, we pay a handsome tribute to the man who lived his entire life with unrivalled passion, commitment and vision. He got his Medical degree at the Escola Médica de Goa in 1938 which he completed with distinction and then went onto get his licentiate at the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon. He did his post graduation in obstetrics and gynaecology atthe prestigious “Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa”, in Lisbon. He decided to return and give back to his beloved Goa all the knowledge and skills he had acquired abroad. He was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Escola Médica de Goa from 1952 until he superannuated in 1965. Thereafter he was the consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Cosme Matias Menezes Memorial Clinic till he retired from active medical life in 1990 at the ripe old age of 75 years. Dr. Joāo Filipe do Rego was both an academician and clinician par excellence. As an academician, during his tenure as professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, he attended various international conferences and presented many papers. He was invited to England as visiting professor to the prestigious Hammersmith Medical School and Hospital, the London Hospital, Nuffield Hospital Oxford and the Queen Margaret Maternity. He is quoted in textbooks for diagnosing a tubal pregnancy even before rupture, a rare feat in those days when Ultrasonography was not available. He was the first to use the Goan frog’s urine for pregnancy testing acclaimed as a great discovery. As a clinician he had a vast experience. Even without modern facilities he innovated and tried new methods of therapy to save the life of his patients. The list of childless couples who were able to conceive after his treatment is endless. He was pained to see that he could not save many a pregnant lady dying of renal failure due to lack of a dialysis machine. This led him to motivate his colleague Dr. Emídio Afonso to develop a dialysis machine indigenously. And lo and behold,the next pregnant patient of renal failure was saved by dialysing her with that ingenious device. Dr. Rego was a compassionate doctor who readily helped the poor in distress. He would never deny medical care to any patient that came to him. In fact his practice was largely humanitarian as half of his patients were not charged. He started, for the first time what was known as “LACTÁRIO” to procure milk for babies deprived of mother’s milk. He also started “The Baby Trousseau” project wherein his students went about collecting funds to get baby clothes for the poor mothers. As a teacher and doctor he always strived to do his best. He was exacting and demanded optimum care to every patient. Even though he was strict and disciplinarian he was loved by his students and the staff of the hospital. He received many awards among which worthy of mention are the “WHO scholarship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology”, the “M.A. Heredia Award” at the inaugural session of the CREST conference and “Award to Goan Senior Physician” by IMA in 1995, as a recognition for his remarkable contribution in the field of medicine. I was fortunate to come in contact with him for a long time. There were many traits in his multifaceted personality that impressed me. He was passionately involved in everything he did and very attached to his work. He was bold and forthright, a problem solver, a humane person who seamlessly bridged the gap in the teacher-student relationship. He was polite and accessible. Through the years, especially when he was at the helm of the Department of Obstetrics, he had a way of his own to combine professionalism with kindness. This is a rare feature since a lot of top doctors are known to short-change others. I also remember him for his enormous personal courtesy. He was extremely devoted to his family and despite his professional preoccupations, even when he reached home tired and exhausted, he saw to it that each of his five children were given quality time, received the best possible education and grew adorned with the tallest Christian virtues. But to him it was not only his family that mattered. He was kind to everyone and built good relations with people, from the highest to the lowest. As a student of his, like me, there are hundreds spread all over the world, who would like to join his family on this day to cherish the thousand-and-one golden remembrances of a man who with trust, hope and love lived his life to the full till the end of his earthly journey.
