SPONSORED | Doctors embark on pro bono cataract surgery

This initiative involved collaborative efforts among the Right to Sight Trust, Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital and these surgeons, with the aim of providing essential surgical interventions at no cost to visually impaired individuals in need.
As a way to observe Eye Care Awareness Month (September 20 to October 17), these surgeries were conducted at Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital on Friday and Saturday.

“Right to Sight generously contributed the necessary packs and consumables, such as quality lenses required for the surgeries, while we surgeons volunteered our time to perform the procedures and requested Busamed Hospital’s staff support for the required time to enhance this initiative’s success. The beneficiaries’ well-being is our utmost priority and their improved quality of life serves as the primary motivation behind this collaborative effort,” Van der Westhuizen said.

He said there is a great number of people who are visually impaired, while there is a low number of cataract surgeries done at public hospitals in Mpumalanga compared to other provinces in the country. “There are lot of people who can have sight-saving surgery, which is relatively expensive and still out of reach for some people who don’t have proper access to healthcare services. In our practice, we receive a lot of patients who can afford the consultation and have a diagnosis of cataracts, but we can’t give them surgery due to unaffordability. These cases are quite frustrating for Morgan and me, because we are not able to help at that very moment of the diagnosis. This is a great platform to extend our help to those who can’t afford the surgery,” he said.
The patients who received surgeries over the two days were selected by various means from government hospitals and the optometrists around the Lowveld.

Cataract surgery is the replacement of the natural lens of the eye that has developed a cataract, which can be described as an opaque or cloudy blanket over the lens. Cataracts could occur due to an eye injury, ageing, genetics and malnutrition, among others.
“It is quite common to occur to anyone, but with good medical surgery, it can be prevented. Cataract surgery allows people to regain their overall independency. There are some cases in which other individuals can’t even work and lose their financial independency. It is quite rewarding for us to get into the community and make sure that underprivileged individuals are not left behind,” Hayes said.

He said the procedure on a patient averages between 20 to 40 minutes and is done under a local anesthetic so that the patient does not feel any pain and does not go to sleep while they work on the eyes.
It was their first time conducting a cataract surgery marathon in the Lowveld, but they have each done a few around the country. They managed to operate on 15 patients on Friday. Dr Johan Eksteen and Dr Edrich Engelbrecht managed to assist a further 12 patients on Saturday.

Lowvelder attended one of the surgeries conducted by Van der Westhuizen and spoke to some of the patients. Prior to her surgery, Fungile Lukhele from eMalahleni said she was excited to receive free surgery on her right eye since her diagnosis in 2020.
“The cataract in my right eye worsened since then and I have not been able to see with it at all. My heart was so broken that I could not get the surgery I needed, because I could not afford it, and the public hospital could not help immediately with surgery. Today, I will walk out with sight in both my eyes and I cannot express my gratitude enough to the doctors and the hospital for giving people like me a chance to experience a full life again,” she said.

Another patient, Jenny Bahnemann, said she cannot wait to go to the park and enjoy sight-seeing and give the leaves a proper look. While surrounded by her son and daughter-in-law post-surgery, she said she felt like she was on top of the world. “The cataract in my right eye got worse over the past three to four years. I was diagnosed about 10 years ago. It was difficult to see, but life is going to be lovely. I will get to go to the park and see the animals nicely and the shades of leaves on the trees. Seeing properly will enhance my safety as well, because I can see my path clearly than before,” she said.

“Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital and Right to Sight sponsored yet another free cataract surgery day. Twelve patients were operated on the day and couldn’t stop expressing their appreciation, from admission to discharge. Such a day simply cannot happen without a team effort from the admin staff at the reception, right through to the theatre and ward staff,” said Eksteen. The team would also like to thank the following suppliers: Alcon, Envision Africa, Gen-Eye, Genop, Isoclear & Baush and Lomb, Oculate, Zeiss