Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa Facilitates Ophthalmology Mini-Conference with Top Surgeon from Mercy Ships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 3, 2010 -- The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa facilitated an ophthalmology mini-conference at their flagship Sabona Eye Centre at the Frontier Hospital in Queenstown on 17 February 2010.

The keynote speaker at the mini-conference was Dr Glenn Strauss, Director of Mercy Vision, the ophthalmology section of Mercy Ships’ operations, and Senior Vice President of Healthcare Development at Mercy Ships. Dr Strauss addressed Eastern Cape Ophthalmologists from the public health sector on the benefits of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS), which he describes as an “elegant, sutureless procedure.”

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens, the part of the eye responsible for focusing light, and producing clear, sharp images. Cataracts cause images to look blurred or fuzzy, and can prevent people from performing basic tasks like reading or driving.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, except in the most developed countries. In the Eastern Cape Province, an estimated 30,000 people are cataract blind.

Dr Strauss, who performs around 30 cataract operations a day when the ship is docked using the MSICS technique the mini-conference focused on, explained that this type of surgery is ideal for situations where high quality, high volume output is desirable without high-tech equipment.

Dr Strauss performed two cataract operations to demonstrate the technique to the surgeons attending the conference.

The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa, which has been working in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Health for 9 years to prevent blindness in the province, initiated the relationship with Mercy Ships, from which the province benefits tremendously.

In 2009 Dr Strauss trained Dr Tuswa over a six week period, on board Africa Mercy, whilst it was docked in Benin. He is scheduled to train a further two Ophthalmologists during 2010.

Africa Mercy (the ship), spends 10 months per year docked in a country, where it provides free surgery and medical care to the residents of that country. This year, Mercy Ships will be in Togo until August.

As part of his relationship with the Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa, in the latter part of 2010, Dr Strauss will spend two months in the Eastern Cape Province, assisting the Department of Health in the area of eye care.

Dr Strauss will aim to assist in facilitating change in eye care, encouraging leadership in the academic sector in the field of ophthalmology; promoting the development of champions for MSICS in the healthcare system and assisting with the refinement of surgical techniques and skill.

Strauss said that the Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa plays a critical role in keeping the focus on blindness, and in overcoming the inequalities in healthcare in the province.

For more on the Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa, visit www.hollows.org/South_Africa.

avoidable blindness     cataract     eye care     ophthalmology