A number of patients with eyesight conditions have found their relief from eye specialists at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in Parktown. During the Eye Care Awareness Month, the hospital performed 140 cataract surgeries over five days, exceeding the target of 100.
Professor Trevor Carmichael, a retired surgeon who still renders his services to the hospital on a voluntary basis, explained that the cornea is the clear window part of the eye. “Cataract is a medical condition in which that cornea or lens gets opaque or swollen and the patient cannot see clearly. We then have to perform surgery and replace it and the Cornea Transplant Drive during Eye Care Awareness Month saw 10 corneal transplants being performed over two days.”
Carmichael added that these corneas were flown in from American at a cost of R20 000 each. A non-profit organisation called the South African Life Improvement Charitable Trust covered these costs through their generosity. The trust has donated 27 corneas over a 12-month period since November 2017 which exceeded the number previously agreed on.
The professor said that the hospital CEO, Gladys Bogoshi has been successful in bringing in donors and provincial health authorities on board. “The cornea donations come from donors just like heart donors and any other organ donors; the potential donors have donor cards which give permission for the organs to be harvested after they pass on. However, we are still trying to promote that practice in South Africa.”
He said the Gauteng Eye Bank does the harvesting as the hospital itself does not have the facilities to keep the harvested eyes and the numbers have dropped from 450 to 50 since 2005. Carmichael explained that the surgery was very invasive with a long recovery period.
“The theatre procedure can take about an hour to less than one and a half hours. After surgery intensive monitoring is required with close follow-up on patients. Patients are generally seen regularly in the cornea clinic for up to two years following the surgery.”
He added that the hospital was trying to get the cross-linking machine which assists in reducing corneal blindness in young patients by treating it early through corneal cross-linking and possibly avoiding corneal transplant surgery altogether.
Those wanting to contribute to this sight-restoring initiative are urged to contact Rajesh Ramdass at South African Life Improvement Charitable Trust on 084 478 0099.
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