When Rubber meets the Road
Gorkha: The Surgeon's Knife
Snippets of our encounters in the Surgical Eye Camp conducted in Gorkha, partnering the Himalayan Eye Hospital (HEH).
Outpatient Eye Examination and Data Collection
Our first day working at the eye hospital at Gorkha was certainly filled with challenges. Being placed into a new working environment, we had to quickly orientate ourselves to the ground and the assets available. We planned the workflow as follow: first an eye check-up including visual acuity and retinal examination, from which whether a cataract surgery is required will be determined. Patients will then be scheduled for surgery later in the day, and subsequently be warded for the night. While we planned for a survey to be conducted during the waiting hours, the initial condition was far from ideal: messy control of crowd, impatient family members and patients, insurmountable language barriers…
Fortunately, we were assisted by several staff at the hospital who were conversant in English and Nepali to assist with the survey and crowd control. The first day started with many patients who left without being surveyed but the numbers improved in the subsequent days. Important information, like awareness of eye care and accessibility to eye care services were gathered, and this will be useful in planning of any future extensions of our work here in Nepal.
At the end of our stint here, we are really pleased to see the jovial faces of the patients as we unveiled their operated eyes by removing the eye padding covering it after the surgery. The surgeries were successful and we managed to complete 122 surgeries over 4 days, well exceeding our initial target of 50.
Encounters in the Operating Theatre
When we were at the surgical camp, we also had the opportunity to enter the operating theatre to observe the surgeries as well as the staff who work hard to make everything possible. On a whole, it was a very interesting experience of us as we got to see how different that operating theatre was compared to a fully-equipped one back in Singapore. For one, all the equipment were sterilized using an autoclave that was heated using gas and fire, and it bore an uncanny resemblance to the pressure cookers we would use in our homes. That was something all of us thought was most interesting. It was really eye-opening to see how the staff were able to adapt to the circumstances and make the most out of it.
On the first day of operations, there were also a slight miscommunication with the local staff that led to a delay in Dr Rupesh being able to see the patients. Dr Rupesh informed the staff that when the patients that were scheduled for the fundus examination should be prepared beforehand by dilating in the eyes, but due to misunderstanding, that did not happen the first time he was supposed to perform the fundus examination. However, instead of generating hostility over this incident, the local staff were extremely accommodating, and ensured that all fundus examinations after that went smoothly and according to plan. We were really grateful for there to be such dedicated and understanding staff that we worked well with. All of us shared the common sentiment that without the local staff, this surgical camp would really not have been possible.