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Ophthalmologists restore sight to over 200
Sudanese.
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Visually disabled persons
(Care and treatment) Ophthalmologists (Social aspects) |
| Pub Date: | 04/01/2012 |
| Publication: | Name: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness Publisher: American Foundation for the Blind Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 American Foundation for the Blind ISSN: 0145-482X |
| Issue: | Date: April, 2012 Source Volume: 106 Source Issue: 4 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 290 Public affairs |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: Sudan Geographic Code: 6SUDA Sudan |
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| Accession Number: | 287867032 |
| Full Text: |
A medical team from the John A. Moran Eye Center recently returned
from the remote region of Duk Payeul in South Sudan, Africa, after
restoring sight to more than 200 individuals with conditions such as
trachoma, cataracts, and glaucoma. They worked in a tiny village in
South Sudan, a part of the world ravaged by tribal conflict, civil war,
and astonishing levels of blindness. "This was actually our third
attempt to go into this region. Twice we were turned back because of
violence," said Dr. Alan Crandall, an ophthalmologist for the John
A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah. The rest of the team
included Drs. Geoffrey Tabin and Lloyd Williams and technician Julie
Crandall from the Moran Eye Center, as well as Drs. Roger Furlong and
Dave Reed. Due to poor water quality, malnutrition, high ultraviolet radiation, and lack of medical treatment, Duk Payeul has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. The team worked out of the Lost Boys Clinic, the only medical facility in the region. It was established in 2009 by John Dau, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," a group of over 20,000 displaced or orphaned children that fled civil war. Many of the people who came to the clinic walked long distances. One woman walked 80 miles with her grandchild. "She'd been totally blind for 6 years," according to Dr. Crandall, "... She'd never seen some of her children, never seen any of her grandchildren." Most of the blinding eye conditions seen by the team of physicians were preventable and easily fixed with brief operations. In addition to Sudan, ophthalmologists at the Moran Eye Center have carried out medical missions and are contributing to international outreach programs in a number of developing countries. For more information, contact: John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132; e-mail: |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2012 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |