Ranga Rohantha Silva has poor vision during the day and has been suffering from night blindness for a long time, one of the first symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

However offers of help poured into Gulf News following a report earlier this month about the desperate situation of the man’s family, who had been declined bank loans for an operation that may help him.

The banks had declined the loans due to the family’s low income.

Silva, 35, and his wife Lankani were struggling to find means for the surgery costing Dh30,000 which was their only hope of saving the man’s sight.

“There are not enough words to thank the kind hearts of those who helped us out,” said Silva.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a disease of the retina, which slowly degenerates, leading progressively to incurable blindness.

Overwhelming response

Silva is now scheduled to undergo surgery at a hospital in Singapore on August 11. His second eye swill be operated on two days later.

From banks finally agreeing to offer loans, to hospitals giving support and airlines offering tickets, the response had been overwhelming, said his wife Lankani.

“Most of the people said that they don’t want to be named and that the only thing they hope for, in return, is God’s blessing. We will always remember them in our prayers,” she added.

One of the banks had agreed to lend the couple money at a low interest rate, which will cover their travel and accommodation expenses, she added.

Silva works as a telephone operator at a private hospital while his wife works for a money exchange firm.

Since neither of them earns more than Dh5,000 per month their repeated applications for bank loans had fallen on deaf ears prior to the Gulf News report.

The Sri Lankan Embassy also offered to help by coordinating with their counterparts in Singapore to ensure the family will get the support they need while Silva undergoes treatment there.

Source: Gulf News

A delegation of Vietnamese voluntary doctors on July 25 wrapped up their working trip to Cambodia’s Svay Rieng border province where they provided free eye examination and surgery to the poor patients.

The trip was jointly organised by the Tay Ninh Red Cross and Nguyen Trai hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Within two days’ working, the Vietnamese doctors conducted cataract surgeries for 176 patients and distributed free medication to 310 others in the province.

The total cost of the trip, including operation fee, medicines and gifts to the people, was worth roughly US$10,400.

Source: VOV NEWS

A. LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, improves vision by reshaping the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye.

Using a laser, an eye surgeon can free patients of eyeglasses and contact lenses. The results of LASIK have been improving because of technological advances and the experience of surgeons. More than 90 percent of people who have undergone refractive (vision-correction) surgery don’t have to wear glasses or contacts most of the time.

LASIK is a relatively new technology. The first laser was approved for eye surgery in 1998. The long-term safety and effectiveness of LASIK is unknown.

According to the LASIK Study Task Force formed in 2007, studies indicate a 95.4 percent satisfaction rate among patients worldwide. The Task Force consists of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the U.S. National Eye Institute.

But of the 7.6 million people who have undergone the procedure in the United States since the 1990s, about 150 have written letters of complaint to the FDA.

LASIK is an option if you are nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism. Some people with presbyopia — a vision error that comes with age — may benefit from LASIK eye surgery. However, the surgery may give presbyopes clear distance vision but poorer near vision.

Certain conditions preclude individuals from having LASIK. These include cataracts, advanced glaucoma, corneal diseases and corneal-thinning disorders.

During the eye exam prior to LASIK, the surgeon charts your eye to determine which areas of your cornea need to be altered. The surgery is then done with a laser programmed to remove the right amount of tissue in each location on the cornea.

During the surgery, you lie on your back in a reclining chair in an exam room. The surgery usually takes less than a half-hour. Often, LASIK is done on both eyes in the same sitting. In most cases, your vision won’t be better at first. Vision improves over several months.

After the procedure, your eyes may hurt, burn, itch or water for a few days. In addition, you may be sensitive to light and experience blurred vision for a week. You may also have dry eyes and difficulty driving at night for about four weeks after surgery. It may take up to 3-6 months for your vision to stabilize after surgery.

Refractive surgery is usually considered elective. Medicare and most insurance companies won’t cover the costs. LASIK costs anywhere from $800-$3,000 or more per eye.

If you have a question, write to fred@healthygeezer.com.

Source:  Times Herald-Record

Times Herald-Record

Solent Eye Hospital will welcome its first patient to its state-of the art treatment rooms on the Solent Business Park in Whiteley.

The private hospital has taken premises in the Fusion 3 buildings formerly occupied by Lloyds TSB which have undergone a custom £10m fit-out with £2.2m surgical and diagnostic equipment and two operating theatres.

Some 19 consultant ophthalmic surgeons from nearby Southampton and Portsmouth hospitals will practise in the 14,000 square feet facility offering various treatments for vision correction, cataracts, glaucoma, retinal disease and age-related macular degeneration. The hospital has created 21 jobs.

Chief executive Tim Clover said the speed of technological development had outpaced the ability of many general hospitals to keep up and the hospital would be the largest eye specialist centre in the country and the only one in the region.

“If you want to have a full range of diagnostic capacities you have to put them in a specialist centre.

“It’s pretty fair to say this place is the best eye hospital in the world,” he said.

Mr Clover said he hoped to be treating up to 3,000 patients a year and had established a research programme with Southampton University.

It is the fourth private hospital to be opened by eye surgery provider Optegra, backed by healthcare investment firm Moonray, which Mr Clover also heads.

Optegra opened its first hospital in Guildford in 2008 and acquired two others in Yorkshire and Birmingham earlier this year following a £37m cash injection from Moonray.

A fifth hospital will open in Manchester by the end of the year.

Source: Daily Echo

Now that pastime has been taken from her after waiting about six years to receive an operation to fix the cataracts in both her eyes.

The Rosedale woman spoke out yesterday after years of frustration with Queensland Health.

“I’m hoping that by saying something I can get my sight back,” she said.

Ms Redfern, 71, spent four years on a waiting list in Townsville before she moved to Rosedale two years ago and her case was transferred to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Ms Redfern said the sight in her right eye had deteriorated so much that she could only see outlines of large objects when her left eye was covered.

Member for Burnett Rob Messenger called for Health Minister Paul Lucas to guarantee that Ms Redfern’s surgery would be completed soon.

“The cataracts have been deteriorating and to be waiting this long is very wrong,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Health said in June 2008, Ms Redfern was living independently and able to drive a car.

“Her optometrist and GP vision assessments showed she had fair vision and, as such, the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital assessed her as category 3,” she said.

A category 3 patient is deemed to have a condition unlikely to deteriorate quickly and which does not have the potential to become an emergency.

“The RBWH received an update from Ms Redfern’s optometrist today in which the optometrist said Ms Redfern’s condition had deteriorated slightly but that she was still living independently. Therefore she is still considered to be a category 3 patient.”

Queensland Eye Specialists director and surgeon Jai Panchapakesan said studies had shown that clear sight for seniors improved their mood, life and safety.

“If you can’t read and can’t watch television, what do you do all day?” he said.

“It also decreases their chances of tripping over something on the floor and hurting themselves.”

Source: News Mail