Along with a group of dedicated physicians, medical students, residents, nurses, and other volunteer staff, I am going to Nasir Hospital in the Sacatepequez area of Guatemala to provide patients in need with ophthalmic care. We aim to evaluate and treat upwards of 200 patients who otherwise cannot afford to get specialty ophthalmic care. A lot of these people are severely visually impaired and have lost the ability to work and provide for themselves and their families. We aim to empower them with the gift of sight.
We aim to serve and provide essential eye care to underserved communities in Sacatepequez and surrounding areas in Guatemala.
The people who are helped by this trip stand to gain better vision and, in turn, increased independence and ability to work and provide for their families. This has an even broader effect on the health and success of their communities. Global ophthalmology work involves invaluable knowledge sharing which strengthens the skills of both local providers as well as the volunteers who return back the the US.
I had the opportunity to travel to the Sacatepequez area of Guatemala. Our team included non-medical volunteers, pre-med students, medical students, residents, attendings, OR nurses, anesthesia, as well as the local hospital nurses and staff. We were able to screen and perform more than 60 vision-restoring cataract and pterygium surgeries for patients in need.
The initial screening was done by local optometrists and other medical providers in the several months leading up to our arrival. If flagged by those providers, the patients were then asked to come in for our screening clinics.
Although most patients were sent for advanced cataracts and pterygia, we saw it all: post-trauma, advanced retinal disease, malignant conjunctival tumors, infectious keratitis, myasthenia gravis, glaucoma – the list goes on and on. If the patient was determined to be a surgical candidate, they would get keratometry and an A scan and be signed up for surgery that day or the following day. I am motivated to have global ophthalmology continue be an active part of my career and am dedicated to help improve access to sustainable, high quality specialty eye care to people in need.
