HCP Cure Blindness

In early September, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology outreach team, from Kathmandu, Nepal, with support from HCP and others, organized a microsurgical outreach clinic in Ladakh, India.

Four pre-surgery screenings were held, where over 1,370 patients were screened for cataracts.  Local monks and organizations assisted with the screening process.

The outreach event provided over 180 successful cataract operations to patients came from five different regions in the Jammu/Kashimir region of mountainous India. Anitbiotic eye drops and bandages were provided to the patients post surgery and patients and family members were counseled on the care of the eyes.  A mass eye health education program was also held on the day of patient discharge to ensure post-operative care.

To read an article about the outreach, please visit the following link from The Telegraph, an Australian newspaper: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/dr-sanduk-ruit-worked-with-australian-icon-fred-hollows-and-has-gone-on-to-perfect-his-technique-and-teach-it-to-the-world/story-fni0cx4q-1226714692730.

There will be more photos to come.

In May a life-changing eye clinic was held in the Samtse district in the southwestern region of Bhutan. The eye clinic was led by Bhutan’s first vitreo-retina specialist, HCP Fellow Dr. Bhim Rai. 1,300 patient screenings and 101 cataract surgeries were provided. Patients ranged in age from 17 to 100 and some were carried to the eye camps on homemade stretchers because their blindness was so debilitating.

The Himalayan Cataract Project is a critical supporter of eye care services in Bhutan. Through outreach eye clinics HCP is able to help people in destitute and rural areas that would normally not have access to high quality care.