Fidel Rojo

From an apparently inoffensive cyst on his eyelid to a tumour that could have jeopardised his eye and his eyesight. Fidel explains how his illness evolved and how IMO was able to stop it in its tracks.

Small bumps, warts or spots in the eyelid area should not be underestimated, as they might sometimes be a sign of the existence of a tumour, as was the case with Fidel Rojo. “My dermatologist removed a cyst on my lower left eyelid, which turned out to be a tumour” –he explains– “She sent me to another dermatologist who specialises in Mohs surgery (a surgical treatment for skin cancer) and I was operated on one month later”.

Apparently, all of the carcinoma had been removed, but Fidel felt that he wasn’t completely “clear” and, despite being assured that he shouldn’t worry, he insisted on having a CAT scan. His suspicions were confirmed: one month after surgery, not only had the cancer not been fully removed but it had gone from being external to spreading to the inside of his eye. It was then that he visited the ophthalmology clinic where he was being treated for early glaucoma, where he was seen by the corresponding specialist. However, as he admits, “I didn’t feel confident enough in that centre to put myself in their hands and they didn’t give me a fast response. After requesting a new biopsy, they sent me home and told me to wait patiently for their call… although the days rolled on and I received no call. Meanwhile, I became more and more worried, as the dermatologist who had operated on me initially was nervous and concerned, ensuring me that my life depended on this”. Fortunately, he says, a work colleague of his daughter recommended visiting IMO.

As he says, “we called on Sunday evening and I was seen in the Oculoplastics Department on Monday morning. I returned on Tuesday to see Dr Ramón Medel, to whom I quickly gave the results of the new CAT scan he had requested and who operated on me the following day. He assured me that he would not remove my eye, as I had been told in the other clinic, and he didn’t: he saved it”. Fidel says that he is extremely grateful, as he still has good eyesight and, above all, has no remains of the carcinoma that has been completely removed, although he continues to receive preventive radiation therapy as support. “I’m now sure that everything is going well, thanks to the fact that IMO took the matter into its own hands with care and professionalism”. Furthermore, something that gave him even more confidence is that “the experience of Dr Medel’s team and their highly refined technique is quite obvious, as is their excellent surgical and humane treatment”.