Medical officer Dr Michael Chan Jun Jit attending to one of the post-operation patients.
KUCHING: Lions Club of Kuching Metro and Clinic Cataract 1 Malaysia (KK1M), through Sarawak State Medical Department together with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas are in the process of entering into an official partnership to promote the establishment of a Prevention of Blindness and Visual Impairment Team, primarily in cataract, glaucoma, vision and other eye-related diseases.
They will work together to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment as well as to facilitate KK1M planning development and implementation of sustainable eyecare programme for Betong Division.
They are hoping to draw the rural community’s attention and awareness on the problem of blindness such as cataract, which can be preventable, restored and reversible. There is also the KK1M outreach cataract service available in this region. KK1M will carry out this screening and operations twice annually.
The prevalence of blindness in Betong based on statistics given from the KK1M – Ophthalmology Department of Sarawak General is high yet the main causes are largely avoidable.
This partnership initiative is well underway for Betong Division. However, Kuching Metro is primarily seeking more sponsorship and planning in bring the eyes, dental and medical specialist to a designated location to be identified by Uggah’s office for a major health screening.
The 6th Betong Cataract Camp was held on Aug 12-13 at Betong Hospital. Uggah, dubbed the ‘Knight of the Sight’, had been sponsoring the camp for the sixth consecutive time.
For this camp, the total registered was 66 patients for phacoemulsification and 12 patients for pterygium.
The final turnout was 60 patients for phacoemulsification. Six patients have had to postpone their operations primarily due to their health and other complications.
There were 60 cataract replacement Intra Ocular Lenses (IOL) under sponsorship at the cost of RM500 per IOL (Charity IOL). There was a total 60 of needy patients who required financial assistance and they are aged 53 to 88. All sponsored IOL were of premium qualities, Bausch & Lomb – enVista Intraocular Lens (IOL).
All patients underwent phacoemulsification with implants of foldable Intra Ocular Lens under topical anesthesia. The surgeries and the IOL are completely free of cost for needy patients.
Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in Betong Hospital alone, with over 150 procedures performed annually in the last two years.
Cataract is a clouding of the natural clear lens in the eye(s) which impedes the passage of light resulting in hazy vision, unusual glare, poor night vision, and a reduction in colour perception. Most cases of cataract are age-related and develop due to a variety of reasons including long-term exposure to ultraviolet light or radiation, diseases such as diabetes or hypertension, or eye injury.
The total sponsorship has already reached 278 patients to-date, including those from the recent Cataract Camp.
Another ongoing concern is of funding to pay for transportation, meals and accommodation for the Eyes Specialist Team to be cover the rural areas.
Those who took part in the recent camp included Head of Ophthalmology Dr Intan Gudom, KK1M Coordinator Sarawak Dr Jaiyah Daud, Opthalmologist Dr Faizal Haron, Medical Officer Dr Michael Chan Jun Jit together with other members of their team from Sarawak General Hospital.
The 7th Betong Cataract Camp is scheduled for February next year, with pre-screening for patients on Feb 6-10 and surgery days on Feb 17-19.
Uggah, dubbed the ‘Knight of the Sight’, speaking to a patient at the recent 6th Betong Cataract Camp held on Aug 12-13 at Betong Hospital. Uggah sponsored the camp for the sixth consecutive time.