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George Subraj Foundation to lend more support to GPHC
Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, Head of GPHC’s Ophthalmology Department
– will conduct major eye clinics in three Regions next month
Through the United States-based George Subraj Family Foundation, cornea transplants have become a regular feature at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC]. In this regard, the GPHC will in the coming month see another batch of corneal transplants being completed.
Although the Foundation, pioneered by the late George Subraj, had an initial focus on bringing kidney transplant to Guyana, the vision was eventually expanded to include corneal transplants which were sourced in the US by the Foundation to facilitate the procedure at the GPHC.
During a visit in February, a team organized by the Foundation brought a total of three corneal tissues to Guyana which allowed for local surgeons at the GPHC to conduct transplant surgeries.
The cornea or the clear ‘glass-window’ of the eye, refracts light and allows the entrance of light into the eye, and this enables people to see. Any disorder that makes the cornea cloudy or opacified can cause severe visual impairment. Many patients who become blinded by corneal opacities or disorders can regain their sight via corneal transplants.
To date, 63 corneal transplants have been successfully done at the GPHC and this publication understands that even more corneas are being sourced to facilitate additional surgeries in the coming days.
Flanking a large photo of the late George Subraj, are from left: Tony Subraj, Gloria Subraj and Jay Jainarine.
During the upcoming visit, the team is also going to be bringing equipment to be donated to the GPHC Eye Department in support of facilitating free Corneal Transplant Surgeries at GPHC. Among the donation will be a Corneal Topographer and a sterilizing machine.
A Corneal Topographer is an instrument that scans the cornea and aids in diagnosis of corneal diseases and also in management of patients after corneal transplant surgery. The sterilising machine will be donated to the Eye Theatre to assist in sterilizing the Corneal Microsurgical Instruments to be used during the transplant surgeries.
But the team will be doing even more during its visit in the coming month. In collaboration with the Ophthalmology Department of the GPHC, the team will be facilitating an eye care outreach which will see multiple clinics being held between May 1 and 6, 2018.
According to information released by the Foundation, “The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation will once again host the George Subraj Family Foundation Team…During this visit the team will be conducting three free eye care clinics in three regions of Guyana.”
A team of Ophthalmologists, Nurses and Optometrists this publication has been informed, will proceed to the various areas to conduct Free Eye Screening and prescribe glasses as required.
Ophthalmologist Dr. Celeste Haynes-Hinds providing advice on eye care for a resident of Essequibo.
Two of the GPHC’s Ophthalmologists who normally collaborate with the Subraj Foundation to conduct Corneal Transplants, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim and Dr. Celeste Haynes-Hinds, are closely involved with the organization of these Eye Care Clinics. In Linden, Ophthalmologist Dr. Rameeza McDonald will be coordinating the outreach at the Linden Hospital Complex.
Clinics will be held in Yakusari Bhuvaneshwar Mandir, Black Bush Polder, Berbice on Tuesday May 1, 2018 from 9am; Linden Hospital Complex, Eye Department, on Thursday, May 3, 2018 from 9am, and in Strathavon, Cane Grove, Mahaica, on Sunday May 6, 2018 from 8am.
Richard B. Mahase of the Subraj Foundation is currently on the ground organizing the logistics of the clinics.
The outreach will in fact be a follow-up to two free eye care clinics that the Foundation conducted in Anna Regina and Leguan in November 2017. Free spectacles were distributed to the residents of those two areas. Similarly, during this visit the team will again distribute a total of 1000 pairs of prescription-strength transition glasses, readers, computer readers and sunglasses that will be distributed freely.
The George Subraj Family Foundation Team on this trip will include: Dr Rahul Jindal, Dr. Stephen Guy, Sharon Ann, Terren Orr, Tony Subraj, Mahindro ‘Jay’ Jainarine and Mahase.
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