Hawaiian Eye Foundation Training in Myanmar

The 4th Biennial Eye Meeting is held in Yangon, Myanmar

HONOLULU, HAWAII, USA, November 12, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Highly trained and valuably skilled ophthalmologists from across the United States joined together to form a team of 19 volunteers that traveled to Yangon, Myanmar, this past month. The five-day Myanmar Eye Meeting (MEM) was held at the Yangon Eye Hospital, conducted by the Hawaiian Eye Foundation, and sponsored by Alcon, Allergan and Johnson + Johnson, along with American Vision Myanmar. MEM was attended by over 100 Burmese ophthalmology students and practicing ophthalmologists.

This year’s Meeting marked the country’s fourth MEM eye surgical training program since the country’s opening to democracy. A wide range of didactic topics were again included: glaucoma, cataracts, plastics, neuro-ophthalmology, refractive, pediatric, corneal and retinal disorders were covered in lectures, patient consultations, and live surgery demonstrations. Here, over 400 patients were examined and 36 surgeries were done to teach local doctors and assist with their difficult cases. Final follow-up appointments were conducted and confirm that all surgeries were successful. Our world-renowned specialists have done their job once again, while providing valuable education to Burmese ophthalmologists. We thank Drs. Philip Custer, Allen Eghrari, Armin Koestinger, Manchima Makornwattana, Dhanu Meleth, Maryam Najjar, Prem Subramanian, Pham Nhu Vinh Tuyen, and Hoang Chi Tam for their sharing surgical skills and knowledge.

This year, as in the past, we were asked to include hands-on basic skills training workshops for local residents. Topics included retinoscopy, refraction, keratometry, lensometry, tonometry, indirect ophthalmology, gonioscopy, visual fields, pediatric exams and optical coherence tomography. Added into the program was neurological exam and a suture lab, by request of the Burmese doctors. Nearly 40 residents and recent graduates were given one-on-one trainings on these topics thanks to the subspecialty doctors and Drs.Vo Thi Bao Chau, Donovan Reed, Susan Ruyle, Pyae Pyae Thien, along with Ophthalmic Technicians Tracy Cruz and Tramaine Davis. Special thanks to our photographer/videographer, Anthony Minassian, for capturing this incredible event on film to share with the world.

The HEF faculty members traveled to Myanmar at their own expense to donate their time. “We are thrilled to continue this ongoing relationship with the Yangon Eye Hospital and the Myanmar Ophthalmology Society. Our partnership grows stronger every year! We feel blessed to bring together such amazing professionals to share our mutual goals of education and compassionate, quality eye care,” said Darrah Kauhane, Executive Director of Hawaiian Eye Foundation. “The people of Myanmar inspire us to continue to reach out to other SE Asian countries and share this valuable program.” Myanmar has 350 ophthalmologists for all 55 million people. This represents a ratio of one ophthalmologist for 160,000 people, which is one-quarter of the World Health Organization’s target. Thus, the urgent need for ophthalmic training. Because of the event’s success, Hawaiian Eye Foundation was invited to return for MEM-V in 2021. The Foundation’s efforts in Myanmar are amplified by its scholarship programs for SE Asian ophthalmologists and ongoing Vietnamese, Cambodian and Indonesian symposiums. Coming soon to Laos!

The 501(c)(3) non-profit, Hawaiian Eye Foundation (HEF), for 35 years, has worked to ensure that all people have access to eye care. http://hawaiianeyefoundation.org.

Darrah Kauhane
Hawaiian Eye Foundation
+1 808-536-3961
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