Attending the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in the United States of America is the ultimate dream of most ophthalmology professionals in the world. It is the place where things happen.
The Academy’s stated mission is “to protect sight and empower lives by serving as an advocate for both the patients and the public, leading ophthalmic education, and advancing the profession of ophthalmology. The Academy has done that and more!
Every year, I am astounded at the zeal and zest of its members – both local and international. I am dazed by the commitment and passion of members who offer their services free of charge to the organisation.
The meeting itself is the final product of months of preparation and its success is largely determined by activities long before the October or November date of the meeting. As a past member of one of the committees of the board, I have had the opportunity to attend one of the pre-conference meeting/workshop (the Mid-Year Forum) where programmes are drawn up and rehearsals are held. It was simply awesome. The final meeting is thus a product of intricate planning and execution.
What happened at this year’s meeting in New Orleans? Trachoma is on its way out. It is the leading preventable cause of blindness worldwide. It is very contagious and almost always affects both eyes. It is commoner in Nigerian women especially in our rural areas and in the North, owing to shared “Tiro” (antimony sulphide) used by our women to line their eyelids for beauty.
But it spreads in other ways such as by skin-to-skin contact (handshakes or hugs), touching contaminated surfaces (clothes or doorknobs) and by flies spreading droplets of sweat or discharge from one infected face to another. Symptoms usually begin with mild itching and irritation of the eyes and eyelids. They may progress to blurred vision and eye pain.
Repeated infections lead to scarring of the inner lining of the lids and later in turning of the lid margins. This causes the eyelashes to rub continually on the sensitive transparent anterior surface of the eyeball (cornea) leading to ulceration, scarring and opacification thus affecting the transmission of light, leading to blindness.
Simple antibiotics treatment in the early-stage and surgery in the later stages can prevent blindness. Prevention is, however, cheaper and more rewarding – access to clean water and improved sanitation especially washing of the face two to three time daily would eliminate the disease from the local communities.
Technological advancements in vision rehabilitation are also on the front burners. Very soon, those who have been written off as irreversibly blind will have some vision restored.
And what’s new about that dreadful disease called glaucoma? Easier and more accurate methods of diagnosis are in the offing, but those who feel there is nothing wrong with their eyes must still get to see qualified ophthalmologists to find out if they are truly free of the disease.
It is a slow, quiet, painless cause of visual loss. You don’t know you have it until you’re almost blind from it. There is good news for those diagnosed with Glaucoma. New medications are around the corner.
It may be possible to have long-acting injections into the superficial coat of the eyes called conjunctiva or stronger medications than now being used. This will eliminate the need for daily instillation of eye drops, better control and stave off blindness.
For those with diseases such as progressive night blindness, (Retinitis Pigmentosa), a cure is in sight. The bad gene can be removed and replaced by a good one. Blindness for Diabetes is also receiving the needed attention. I am overwhelmed by these developments in eye care.
But as I sit down to write this, I ask myself, what can we do to translate the new developments to concrete solutions for our people in Nigeria? I was at this meeting last year and the year before and nearly every meeting held in the last 30 years. It has been all motion, but no movement.
Most of the progress witnessed in the United States, India and other countries are driven by the private sector with the governments providing an enabling environment. I am therefore appealing to our corporate organisations to work together with the private sector healthcare initiatives to build an amazing future for eye care in Nigeria.