The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital is now better equipped to deal with eye problems, thanks to a number of organisations.
Last week Thursday, medical officials at the Eye Clinic, located in the hospital, announced that they now have in their possession six pieces of equipment which include a slit lamp, a tonometer, a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, a YAG laser, a green argon laser and an A-scan ultrasound machine. {{more}}
Retired hospital administrator Pamela Bonadie estimated the cost of this equipment to be around US$150,000.
Organisations, which have come in for praises for helping with the acquiring and setting up of this equipment, include the Lions Club Kingstown, The Rotary Club, Lenstech in Barbados, Steed Caribbean Limited from Trinidad, Millenium Bank and the Government, among others.
President of the Lions Club, Kingstown, Beverly Reddock told SEARCHLIGHT her club assisted with the fundraising locally. “We also spoke with a number of Lions Clubs in North America who also got in touch with Dr. Kevin Treacy and helped pay to have these machines in St. Vincent.”
Opthalmologist Dr. Kevin Treacy, who began visiting SVG over four years ago on February 14, 2000, described the machines as state-of-the- art equipment that can take care of most of the eye problems he has seen in SVG. He said that all of the opthalmologists in SVG are familiar with the machines.
Describing the various machines, Dr. Treacy said that the indirect ophthalmoscope gives a doctor the chance to examine the front of the eye and check pressure. The YAG laser allows the doctor to look into the back of the eye and gives a good view of the retina. The other lasers are used to treat blurred vision which occurs because of scar tissue left after cataract surgery.
Now, instead of surgery, says Dr. Treacy, some of these problems, including a certain type of glaucoma, are treated with a laser. Persons suffering from diabetes, and as a result are developing new blood vessels or leaky blood vessels that cause blurred vision, can now receive treatment from a laser that can help dry up fluids or get rid of new blood vessels.
The ultrasound machine measures the length of a person’s eye to allow calculations that assist in the precise lens implant. According to Dr. Treacy, “This allows us to give a patient the best possible vision that we can offer after cataract surgery.”
However, Dr. Treacy says that there is still sometimes need for surgery to deal with some of the eye problems that occur.
Minister of Health Dr. Douglas Slater thanked the various medical practitioners and organisations for their help. “This is truly a partnership,” he said while stressing the importance of having good vision.