The Eye Clinic proudly supports the SecondSight Organisation. Our surgeons travel to India to work alongside Indian eye surgeons at charitable hospitals providing free cataract surgery for the poor.Learn more about SecondSights's good work.
Second Sight relies solely on public donations to continue their good work. Financial contributions in Euro or Sterling cheques are greatly appreciated. Please send donations to: Second Sight,8 Battledean Road, London, N5 1UZ, U.K.
My passage through India: A Surgeon's Journal
As affluence becomes the norm, we inadvertently transform into an inward looking society – our world begins and ends with self. This often prevents us from reaching out to others and to realise that to give is not to lose.
It is against this backdrop that I ventured into India as a SecondSight surgeon. I was accompanied by Mr. Robin Bosanquet, an eye surgeon from England. Our destination: a remote hospital in Bisalpur at the edge of the Great Indian Dessert in the state of Rajasthan, North West India.
Shri Bhairav Eye Hospital was established in 1979. It existance depends on charitable donations. It does not receive any funds from the government. Officially, it has 100 beds; in reality, it has capacity for more as make shift beds are set up along corridors and the lobby! There are usually 3 dedicated local doctors at the hospital.
Our work is predominantly surgical – 95% of which is cataract surgery. Most patients present with mature cataracts which would have severely impaired their vision. The results of cataract surgery are often dramatic – restoration of sight on the first day after the operation is not unusual. A typical day would last 10-12 hours performing surgery on 70-90 patients.
On alternate days, the team would travel to even more remote locations to conduct ‘eye camps’. Its sole purpose is to screen for patients with cataracts which require surgical intervention. Remarkably, we would see in excess of 300 patients who have traveled far and wide to the camps. Even with these long hours and work load, I did not feel burdened or stressed because of the immense gratitude shown by the patients and their families.
I am humbled by the generosity of the local population. Although they are poor in resources, they will always smile for they are grateful for what they have. It is their faces that will forever be etched in my memory, and their positive outlook will shape my own perspective in life.
I am grateful for Second Sight for giving me this opportunity to contribute, in a small way, to a worthy cause.
W.Lee
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
