From KITV — HONOLULU, Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Highly trained and valuably skilled ophthalmologists from across the U.S., Canada, England and Asia joined together to form a 27-member volunteer team that traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this month. The five-day Cambodia Eye Meeting (CEM) was held at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, conducted by the Hawaiian Eye Foundation (HEF), and sponsored by Alcon International, Allergan and SightLife. Local sponsors in Cambodia were Ashford Laboratories Ltd., Image Pharma and MEES. CEM was attended by over 190 Cambodian ophthalmologists, ophthalmology residents, nurses and guests.

This inaugural, comprehensive, international ophthalmic program included a wide range of didactic topics in glaucoma, oculoplastics, neuro-ophthalmology, cornea, retina, pediatric ophthalmology, cataract and refractive surgery, all covered in lectures, patient consultations and surgery demonstrations. Over 285 patients were examined and 33 surgeries were done to teach local doctors and assist with their difficult cases. The first Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty, known as a “DMEK” or corneal tissue transplant, was performed in Cambodia during this mission, under the tutelage of Dr. Allen Eghrari of John Hopkins University. With only 38 ophthalmologists for over 16 million people in Cambodia, training is crucial. Follow-up appointments confirm that all surgeries were successful. While providing valuable educational experience, our world-renowned specialists continue to save sight. Our humble thanks to surgeons Drs. Philip Custer, Allen Eghrari, Charity Grannis, Chirag Jhaveri, Manchima Makornwattana, Deepak Sobti, Prem Subramanian, Pham Nhu Vinh Tuyen and David Yu for sharing their skills and knowledge.

Hands-on basic skills training workshops were held for 34 residents of Ophthalmology. Topics included retinoscopy, refraction, keratometry, lensometry, tonometry, A/B scan, Biometry, IOL calculation, pediatric exam/strabismus, visual fields, tonometry, gonioscopy, indirect ophthalmology, optical coherence tomography, direct ophthalmology, slit lamp exam and a suture wet lab. Students were given one-on-one training in each skill. Sincere thanks to Drs. Uma Chaluvadi, John Corboy, Nathan Hamburger, Jonathan Hantman, Diane Houtman, Bill Hewak and Susan Ruyle, along with Ophthalmic Technicians Megan Bergeson, Barbara Elmore, Carly Helm, Willow Post and Dana Stroud. Special thanks to student volunteers Austin Couvillion and Carson Yu, and photographer Julia Miller.