In significance of Eye Care Awareness Week (marked from 21 September to 18 October), more than 10 Helderbergers with cataracts were afforded the gift of sight with vision-saving operations at Cure Day Hospital Somerset West.
The medical facility, which specialises in outpatient or same-day procedures offered at its premises located in the Paardevlei Precinct, collaborated with Somerset Eye Centre, supporting the Ophthalmology Society of South Africa’s Right to Sight initiative that is dedicated to ending preventable and curable blindness through accessible restorative sight surgeries.
The collaboration granted 12 patients in financial difficulty, access to sight-saving surgery, from untreated cataracts (which may be caused by ageing, long term exposure to ultraviolet light, exposure to radiation, eye injury, genetics and some long-term diseases such as diabetes). The operations were performed at the Cure Day Hospital during the second week of October, with valued contributions from medical staff and Blaine and Associates Anaesthesiologists who offered their expertise toward the worthy cause. Medical device companies, Envision, Oculate, Genop and Vertice sponsored various disposable items and intra-ocular lenses.
Macassar resident Bernard November was among locals whose lives were changed for the better thanks to the cataract surgeries offered. The 63-year-old devoted spouse and proud father and grandfather returned to the medical facility on Wednesday morning (11 October) for his second cataract surgery. “I feel good and look forward to the surgery benefits, namely improved sight,” said November while being attended to by staff nurse Stacy Danster in the prep room before surgery.
Danster expressed her elation for November who will no longer battle blurry, dull vision which can be like looking through a cloud of fog or billowing smoke from a fire. “Following recovery within a few days Mr November will be able to enjoy improved vision and properly see the pretty face to this name who has prepped him for both surgeries,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
The friendly staffer boasts 29 years in the nursing profession and has dedicated the past eight years to Cure Day Hospital, where she serves with a passion that is evident in her bedside manner. Part of the preparation before surgery is applying drops containing antibiotics and aiding anesthesia for pupil dilation to the affected eye. Cataract surgery is a quick procedure, about 15 to 20 minutes in theatre, and is done under local anaesthetic.
After going through the operation, Miena Davids (66) voiced being impressed by just how well the procedure went. “I am excited about the results,” she said. “I just want to see and be able to focus on my work without the added concentration. Before the surgery I could see almost nothing through my right eye, which took a lot of strain due to the cataract.”
Both November and Davids had cataract operations, with the implant of a intra-ocular lens. “Recovery is very quick, usually a few days to a week. “Once the eye is healed, the vision will improve sometimes to 20/20 and sometimes the patient will require glasses to maximise vision. Cataract surgeries are highly successful and almost always improve quality of vision and of life,” said a media statement on enquiry.
