Eyeworld

EW INTERNATIONAL 130 February 2018 Presentation spotlight by Stefanie Petrou Binder, MD, EyeWorld Contributing Writer Newly built ophthalmology hospital serves patients in dire need in rural Uganda T he prevention of blindness in remote underserved regions of the world is an ongoing battle. Thanks to the continued efforts of international organizations against blindness and initiatives such as the WHO Action Plan: Vision 20/20, 1 preventing avoidable blindness and visual impairment is being taken on bit by bit throughout the developing world. A presentation at the XXXV Congress of the ESCRS highlighted Uganda: Creating sustainable eyecare Children after their free eye screening at the Kasana Eye Care Center, Uganda Source: Florian Kretz, MD a successful initiative undertaken by a team of German eye surgeons, opticians, and nurses, who built up a functioning eye center in Ugan- da, which not only helped restore vision in thousands of Ugandan pa- tients, but also put reliable self-help structures in place to ensure the seamless continuation of ophthal- mic care in the region. Eye Clinic Kasana The Eye Clinic Kasana/Luwero, in Kasana, Uganda was built through the efforts of Augenärzte für die Welt, a German, non-government registered charity that worked in close cooperation with the Ugan- dan Ministry of Health in Kampala and the district doctor in Luwero. Augenärzte für die Welt was formed by eye doctors from Augenärzte Gerl, Kretz & Kollegen, Germany, who have been involved in offering ophthalmologic and surgical care in the region since 2011. Their initia- tive has resulted in the treatment of more than 10,000 patients to date, including more than 1,000 cases of cataract surgery. The group target- ed for care included those people populating remote, rural districts, who have poor access to healthcare, and in particular the roughly 50,000 Ugandans with imminent visual impairments. The eye center is run year round by five local Ugandan, specially trained optometrists, nurses, and opticians, who are in charge of daily operations. A German medical team from Ahaus and Rheine of up to 10 eye surgeons, ophthalmic nurses, and opticians make semiannual visits to the facility where they not only treat patients but also teach local doctors and nurses the skills they need to become self-suffi- cient. "In addition to medical care for patients, we carry through the professional training of further ophthalmic experts who are urgent- ly needed in Uganda, far beyond the clinic's target region," said Florian Kretz, MD, Augenärzte Gerl, Kretz & Kollegen, head office, Ahaus, Ger- many, who spoke at the XXXV Con- gress of the ESCRS. Together with his business partner, Matthias Gerl, MD, he is the CEO and shareholder of Augenärzte für die Welt. Dr. Kretz was part of the medical team that lent its expertise to building up the Kasana eye center. "We are grateful for any support we can get in terms of material and financial support, but also greatly need the support of ophthalmic specialists to help us promote the project. By coming to Uganda, ophthalmic personnel help us at all levels from sterilizing in- struments to treating and caring for these patients who need our help." Once the eye clinic in Kasana was up and running, it was hand- ed over to local authorities in the spring of 2017. According to Dr. Kretz, it was vital to build a self-sus- taining eyecare center. "Our goal was to create optimum conditions for our project and for the hospital to be run by Ugandan specialists independently and successfully," he said. "We equipped the clinic with grinding machines for grinding glasses and have trained locals in how to use them. We also train local ophthalmologists and theatre nurses in modern surgical methods and thereby put them in a position to be able to act as multipliers and pass on their knowledge." The eyecare center in Kasana is fully equipped with optical instru- mentation and surgical devices, all of which were sponsored by Augenärzte Gerl, Kretz & Kollegen, head office Ahaus. The facility is also furnished with a solar pow- er system. Dr. Kretz and his team train young Ugandan surgeons and healthcare providers in the implementation of all specialized ophthalmic instruments. According to Dr. Kretz, educating locals will help promote better healthcare in the region. "The advanced voca- tional training in modern operative methods considerably increases the number of successful operations that can be performed," he said. "An untrained Ugandan cataract surgeon is able to achieve a maximum daily capacity of five cataract operations with moderate postoperative visual outcomes. After training, we can assume that the trained cataract surgeon should be able to achieve a daily number of 15–20 cataract " In addition to medical care for patients, we carry through the professional training of further ophthalmic experts who are urgently needed in Uganda, far beyond the clinic's target region. " —Florian Kretz, MD

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