Northern Ireland team's sight-saving mission to Cambodia
Optometrist Shane Higgins has his eyes opened to the poor healthcare system in Cambodia where thousands of people lose their sight unnecessarily. He spoke to Gail Bell
Gail Bell
28 April, 2023 07:00

Pictured from left, Prathamesh Waghmare, resident optometrist with Khmer Sight Foundation, with three Belfast eye specialists: consultant ophthalmologist Vasuki Jothi, optometrist Shane Higgins and ophthalmologist Dr Lisa Kelly
WHEN optometrist Shane Higgins packed his bags and headed off on a charity mission to Cambodia earlier this year, he had no idea the impact his work would have on patients – or himself.

The head optometrist with Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast travelled to Phnom Penh with a group of fellow healthcare professionals from Belfast and Derry, all ready to carry out life-changing work in free clinics facilitated by Cambodian charity, Khmer Sight Foundation.

Over the course of five days the team carried out 184 operations – mostly cataracts but also removal of pterygium fatty tissue which grows over the cornea – successfully restoring sight and transforming lives for more than 200 people.

"It was amazing to be part of something that was so simple and yet so transformative for the poorest of people," says Shane.

"The need is huge throughout Cambodia where 90 per cent of blindness is avoidable and where sight problems impact employment opportunities and put families at risk of destitution."

The team dealt mainly with very dense cataracts in mostly older patients pre-selected at earlier assessment clinics organised by Khmer Sight Foundation, but some younger patients were also seen, including a young woman in her 20s with scarred corneas and a 24 year-old man who was totally blind due to diabetes – the condition has a similar incidence rate as in the UK, but often goes untreated due to medication costs.

"The success stories of the cataract surgeries stay with me, but some people we sadly couldn't help," Shane says.

"The young woman who came in with cornea scarring – something she had in both eyes since a child – had significantly reduced vision, but, sadly, the only treatment option would have been a corneal transplant.

"Unfortunately, she would have had to fly to a different country which has a much better healthcare system and where she could be offered corneal transplant surgery. It made me think of the different outcomes for people at home – here, there is always an option; there is always a clinic you can send someone to. The waiting list might be long, but there is somewhere to send people to. In Cambodia, there is nothing."
https://www.irishnews.com/lifestyle/hea ... a-3228112/