Mission report Ophthalmology: Ethiopia 2016
Consultations (1500 consultations spread over 8 days with distribution of 350 glasses for free and 2000 bottles of eye drops for free)
List of eye exams and eye operations performed by the See&Smile team
Procedures
Tonometry:
Tonometry is a procedure to determine the intraocular pressure (Fluid pressure inside the eye). This test is important in evaluating the risk of glaucoma, a series of eye conditions that can cause nerve damage and vision loss.
Physical/clinical examination
Inspection of the eyelids
Presence of secretion
Localizing and determining possible irritation
Inspection of the cornea
Auto refractor
An auto refractor is a computer-controlled machine used during eye examinations. It provides an ‘objective’ measurement of the patients’ refractive error (fault in the focusing of light in the eye, cause of imperfect vision). This machine can give an estimation of the refraction of the eye and needs always to be controlled by subjective refraction. It achieves all this by measuring how light changes as it enters the patients’ eye.
The Slit lamp
An instrument that can project a thin sheet of light into the eye. It’s used in conjunction with a bio microscope. This machine lets the user examine the anterior and posterior segment of the eye, the front and backside of the eye including the eyelids, sclera, conjunctiva, iris, lens and cornea. The slit lamp offers a magnified view of these structures in detail, enabling diagnoses for a variety of conditions. A second lens is used to examine the retina itself.
Visus-examination.
Determining the visual acuity is important in any ophthalmologic examination. The medical term for this is the ‘visus’. The visus of every eye is examined separately, with and without possible correction (glasses or lenses).
Letter card
A white card with black symbols of different sizes is used to determine the patients vision. They can differ in sizes or directions. These are used on predetermined distances to offer an objective point of reference.
Operations (101 operations spread over 8 days)
71 Cataract operations under PHACO
6 Extra-capsular operations
13 Cataract operations by placing an Artisanlens
4 Cataract operations by placing a Sulcuslens
1 Trabeculectomy
2 Cataract operations without placing a new lens
2 Chalazion operations
1 Removal of stitches in the eye
1 Inoperable
The non-Phaco operations require stitches and are therefore longer to perform