The Tibetan elderly finally regained his sight: This Shanghai ophthalmology medical team sent doctors to Qinghai, who had been blind for 30 years
As a joint aid project promoted by Changning District of Shanghai and Gande County of Golog Prefecture, Qinghai Province, the "Healthy Three Rivers Source, Bright Gande" Qinghai Golog Prefecture Gande County Eye Health Joint Public Welfare Activity was successfully concluded at Gande County People's Hospital on June 21. The members of the Guangzheng Ophthalmology Public Welfare Medical Team performed a total of 20 cataract restoration surgeries. Most of the patients had severe white nuclear cataracts with high surgical difficulty. In the end, satisfactory results were achieved after the operation, and the visual acuity of many elderly people reached above 1.0 after the operation.
Highly difficult surgery helps a patient with 30 years of eye disease regain his sight
Among these patients, there is one who is particularly special. He is the 56-year-old Tibetan man Awu Zhaji. Awu Zhaji's right eye suffers from congenital iris defect and lens suspensory ligament defect. At the age of 26, with the complication of cataract, his right eye completely lost its sight.
In the following 30 years, accompanied by his family, Awuzaji sought medical treatment everywhere, but returned disappointed because of the difficulty of the operation. Zhaji's life was greatly affected. He often bumped into things and fell because of his poor vision. He also suffered a back injury due to a fall, and other inconveniences are self-evident. What bothered him most was that because of his poor eyesight, driving, which he used to love very much, became a "dangerous activity."
Upon learning that the medical team from Shanghai would provide public welfare diagnosis and treatment for eye disease patients in Gande County, his family immediately accompanied him to the county people's hospital. After a detailed examination and careful evaluation, the medical team brought the family good news that they had been waiting for 30 years: there was hope that through cataract phacoemulsification combined with intraocular lens suspension surgery, Awuzaji would be able to see again.
The operation was performed by Director Gu Xuefen of the Guangzheng Public Welfare Medical Team. It is understood that as a complex and difficult eye disease, congenital iris coloboma and lens suspensory ligament defect complicated with cataracts require very high surgical precision. During the operation, the artificial lens needs to be sutured and fixed in the precisely structured eye. Even in the plains and in operating rooms with ideal conditions, it is considered a type of operation with high difficulty. Gu Xuefen overcame the altitude sickness and handled every surgical detail accurately, and the operation was finally a complete success. After the postoperative review the next day, Awuzaji's corrected visual acuity could reach above 0.8.
The 20 patients who underwent the charity surgery had similar experiences: they were unable to afford the medical expenses due to limited economic conditions, were restricted by local medical conditions, or had a lack of knowledge about eye diseases, which delayed their treatment and led to near blindness. Most importantly, they all had a family that desperately wanted to see the light.
The arrival of the medical team has brought light to these patients and hope to these families. However, as they have a deeper understanding of the local situation, the medical team members have become increasingly aware that the potential for cataracts among the large population of residents in Tibetan areas is still not optimistic. There is still a lot of work to be done in the future to reconstruct a clear "vision" for the elderly in Tibetan areas, and it is particularly urgent to train a large number of ophthalmology professionals.
"Hematopoietic" teaching to build a team of ophthalmic talents that cannot be taken away
It is understood that Gande County has a registered population of more than 40,000. Thanks to years of counterpart assistance, the ophthalmic medical equipment and facilities of Gande County People's Hospital are relatively complete, but the ophthalmic medical staff needs to be strengthened urgently, and ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment has long faced great pressure.
In this charity campaign, Guangzheng Ophthalmology has clarified a new direction: "It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish" and "Blood transfusion is worse than blood production". Carrying out charity projects and organizing charity surgeries will certainly help alleviate the problem of "difficulty in seeing a doctor" for local patients with eye diseases, but helping the local area to cultivate a group of excellent ophthalmological talents and improve the professional quality and clinical ability of doctors is the fundamental solution to the problem. It is reported that Guangzheng Ophthalmology's "Star of Vision" ophthalmology talent training program has held 11 sessions so far, and has trained 145 ophthalmology professionals in remote areas.
To this end, during this trip to Sanjiangyuan, Guangzheng Ophthalmology and Gande County People's Hospital formally signed a memorandum of cooperation. In the future, through the "hematopoietic" training model such as talent exchange, assistance and teaching, a team of ophthalmic talents that can be retained and can be clinically practiced will be built for the hospital. Bringing the "Star of Vision" program to Gande will continuously inject fresh blood into the local ophthalmology department, promote the improvement of its ophthalmic medical level and the development of ophthalmology.
At the same time, Guangzheng Ophthalmology will also open a green medical channel for Gande County People's Hospital. Patients with difficult eye diseases such as Awuzaji who cannot be treated or operated on locally can obtain professional ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment services conveniently and efficiently through the green medical channel.
During this event, the medical team also donated 200 pairs of protective sunglasses and lens boxes and other medical supplies to Gande County People's Hospital on behalf of Guangzheng Ophthalmology Group, aiming to help residents in plateau areas, cadres sent to Qinghai and other groups strengthen daily protection, reduce strong ultraviolet radiation to the eyes, and effectively prevent the occurrence of eye diseases such as cataracts.
Protecting a bright future: Vision problems of children in the plateau need urgent attention from society
Children are the future and hope of the country, and the current children's eye health issues have received great attention from the whole society. During the event, the Guangzheng Ophthalmology Public Welfare Medical Team, led by Tian Xiaobo, Party Secretary of Shanghai New Vision Eye Hospital, conducted eye disease screening for students from Qingzhen Township Primary School in Gande County. Dr. Chao Lumen also gave a lecture on the theme of "Caring for Bright Eyes and Preventing Myopia" to all teachers and students in the school. This is the second time that the Guangzheng Ophthalmology Public Welfare Medical Team has carried out eye disease screening and eye health lectures for children on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau after the 2023 "Snowland Love and Bright Journey" Tibet Aid Campus Public Welfare Activity.
During the screening process, the public welfare medical team found that due to lack of knowledge on eye care, poor eye hygiene habits, and long-term use of electronic products, nearly half of the local students had lower than normal vision. Myopia was particularly serious, and the rate of myopia glasses was less than 10%. In addition, some children with strabismus, amblyopia, and ocular surface diseases were also found.
Tian Xiaobo said that the screening results overturned the long-held belief that the incidence of myopia among children in plateau areas is low, and the eye health of children in plateau areas urgently needs to attract the attention of the whole society. Guangzheng Ophthalmology will continue to care about the eye health of local children and provide them with further professional ophthalmology guidance.
After several days of intensive and orderly work, the medical team not only won wide acclaim from the local people with their professional diagnosis and treatment services, but also deepened their understanding of eye health issues in the plateau areas through practical operations, and accumulated more valuable experience for Guangzheng Ophthalmology's subsequent public welfare assistance to Tibet and other remote areas.
