Namibian trip a rousing success

Global Eye Care surgeons
restore the sight of
102 Namibians

.       After months of planning and gathering supplies, Global Eye Care, Inc., a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization, sponsored an eye camp in the northern Namibian city of Rundu in June. A team of four volunteer GECI surgeons spent the better part of a week providing much-needed surgical eye care to more than 100 Namibians suffering from bilateral cataracts.
       In this country of 1.7 million residents, more than 16,000 are blind, with more than 80% of those blind from cataracts. Currently, the entire country is served by just five ophthalmologists, with the only fully equipped eye care facility located in the central part of the country in the capital of Windhoek, several hundred kilometers from Rundu.

The doctors arrive, eager to begin their work improving Namibians' eye health. Front row (L-R): Dr. Ezekwo, Dr. Ndume, Mrs. Amigó Rodriguez; Back row (L-R): Mr. Ezekwo, Dr. Courtney, Dr. Amigó Rodriguez

      Rundu was chosen as the location for the eye camp, because it is well-positioned within the northern part of the country. Even with this location, many of the patients traveled more than 300 kilometers by bus to receive care.

Cataracts strike at a younger age
       Prospective surgery candidates were screened by local health care workers several months prior to the camp to determine who were the most in need of care. It was interesting to note that while in developed countries such as the United States cataract patients generally range in age from the late 60s to the mid-80s and are treated long before actual blindness occurs, here the patients were already bilaterally blind, and many were under 65, with some of the patients appearing to be in their 40s.
        While many patients requested that we restore eyesight to both eyes, GECI follows a strict safety procedure that allows surgery on only one eye at a time. This is done as a preventive measure. On rare occasion, infection can set in on the operated-on eye, causing permanent blindness that could spread to both eyes if they were both done at once. By operating on only one eye at a time, the doctors are left with the opportunity to then restore sight to the other eye at a later time. Once this was explained to the patients, they were content with the fact that they would have their vision restored.
      We were pleased to find that the hospital in Rundu was clean and modern. In anticipation of our arrival, the staff had vacated most of the hospital and turned over the facilities to us, including all of the operating rooms. They were ours to use for the week, with the exception of emergencies. Our patients began to arrive at the hospital several days prior to the surgery and were housed and fed by the hospital staff. The staff took excellent care of the patients, as well as preparing them for surgery. To an individual, the patients were some of the most cooperative we have ever worked with.
      Surgical care was provided by three volunteer physicians: Dr. Alfredo Amigó Rodriguez from Spain, Dr. Anthony Courtney from Canada, as well as Dr. Ifeoma Ezekwo from the USA. Local ophthalmologist Dr. Helena Ndume, who was instrumental in arranging our visit, also provided surgical skills to round out the group.

Phaco machine enhances care
      As we have yet to establish a permanent clinic in Namibia, we brought most of our equipment with us. Included among it was a phacoemulsification (phaco) machine. Currently, there is no such equipment permanently available anywhere in Namibia. The phaco machine is important to cataract surgery in that it can be used for all but the most difficult cases and cuts surgical time down to about 15 minutes per case versus 45 minutes to an hour.
      On this trip, the phaco machine was operated by Dr. Amigó, and due to its speed, he was able to perform a great number of procedures himself, with the other doctors taking on the more difficult cases, as well as the excess.
      In addition to treating the patients' cataracts, some were also suffering from additional eye problems, including glaucoma and pterygium. Using the donated medications brought along, the GECI doctors and staff were able to treat these conditions. All in all, GECI brought along more than 40 boxes of medications and supplies to treat a wide variety of eye conditions. All of the remaining materials stayed in Namibia for use by the local doctors and medical staff, as well as to support additional eye camps.

A very special thank you to the entire Rundu surgical team.

We need your support to continue
      This trip was very successful and an example of the care GECI hopes to provide throughout Africa and other developing areas. With ongoing donations, GECI hopes to have a fully equipped clinic, including a permanently based phacoemulsification machine, operating microscopes, and slit-lamps, in place in Namibia within the year.