Retinal detachment in the Congo … a serious often tell my patients that they s problem.
In May, we have been “inundated” by patients suffering from retinal detachment. This means that we have discovered about three cases per week in our consulting room. Fortunately retinal detachment is very rare here in the Congo. I often tell my patients that they are lucky to have such good eyes. Somehow the Africans’ tissues are stronger and therefore less prone to tear.
Despite this, there are plenty of “ablation” patients, but the trouble is that they usually go to the doctor much too late, sometimes only months or years later. Of course, it is difficult to see a specialist if there are merely two of them in the entire province of eight million inhabitants, and the two ends of the province are 1,000 ks apart… And that is approximately what East Kasai province is like.
We started to entertain the idea of retinal surgery already years ago, and the marvellous instruments received recently make intraocular retinal surgery entirely possible. Vitrectomy, endo laser, silicon oil pump, vitreoretinal equipment… Of course, having the instruments is one element of the solution, what is also needed is someone who can perform the procedure without causing too much harm. For weeks and months I immersed myself in text books and the Internet, and rehearsed.
Well, a while ago we began to practice retinal surgery. Better late than never in a country with sixty million inhabitants where there is not a single specialist of that kind. Those who have the means and have such a problem, have to go to South Africa and pay thousands of dollars for an operation. There are some who prefer to go to India.
Strangely, there have been several cases of bilateral retinal detachment amongst our recent patients. Surgery is the only chance for them. On top of it, they are very poor people. It gives me great pleasure that for only a few cents I am able to give them new life with the means at my disposal. Our patients have a saying here that “Sight is life”, and there is a lot of sense in that. I know that being a good specialist in retinal surgery takes a lot of stamina. The operations are long and tiring. But it is worthwhile, because we are able to help patients who would otherwise go blind.
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Richard, from the Congo