Rayner VISION 2020 LINKS

A group of Uganda’s poorest children have had the gift of sight restored and 4 Ugandan paediatric ophthalmologists have been educated on the modern methods of paediatric cataract surgery. These are the achievements of the latest teaching visit organised by the VISION 2020 LINKS programme, with the support of Rayner.

The company was honoured to be approached by surgeon, Mr Geoffrey Woodruff, FRCOphth, who requested a supply of Rayner’s premium quality monofocal IOLs (the Rayner C-flex) and some Rayvisc viscoelastic for his up-coming charity work in Uganda. The following is his report on his trip and its purpose.

A Report on the Teaching Visit: A Very Positive and Successful Exercise

"My colleagues in Mulago Hospital Kampala and the Regional Referral Hospital in Jinja carried out 14 intra-ocular operations on children. This consisted of 5 surgeries for congenital or developmental cataract, 6 surgeries for traumatic cataract, 2 secondary lens implants for aphakia and one acute repair of a corneal laceration.

In the congenital and developmental cataract cases, the lens was removed through a small incision using an AC maintainer and a cortex aspirator. In all but one of these cases an injectable C-flex lens was then placed in the capsular bag and a posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy carried out from either an anterior, or pars plana approach. In one case of traumatic cataract associated with previous non-penetrating trauma, it was also possible to place a folding lens into the capsular bag. In the other traumatic cases a locally sourced PMMA lens was placed in the sulcus.

The Rayvisc was extremely helpful in the smallest children, allowing continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis much more easily than my colleagues have previously experienced. The injectable C-flex lenses allowed dramatic demonstration of the benefits of operating on a closed eye with small access wounds in children. There have been lasting benefits in the teaching and exchange of experience which the donation of viscoelastic and intra-ocular lenses greatly facilitated."

About the Vision2020 LINKS Programme

The VISION 2020 LINKS Programme works to improve quality and quantity of eye care training in some of the world’s poorest countries. The programme, which began in 2004, has so far established 21 links between training institutions in Africa and the UK. The ‘LINK’ for this particular story is between the Royal Free Hospital in London, United Kingdom and the Mulago Hospital Kampala, Uganda, which was established in 2009. For more details on this life-changing work please click here

Rayner Intraocular Lenses - the manufacturer of the world’s first IOL – is pleased to be able to uphold and continue Sir Harold Ridley’s vision that the intraocular lens should be available for the benefit of all mankind.

The pictures show Mr Geoffrey Woodruff assisting Dr Grace Ssali, who is performing surgery on a child.

Photos courtesy of Terry Cooper of Volk Optical