Des Moines Eye Surgeon Joins Orbis International Team to Prevent Blindness in the Philippines
January 9, 2004
Des Moines’ very own Dr. Donny W. Suh has joined an elite team of international eye care professionals who work aboard the world’s only flying eye hospital—the ORBIS DC-10, a converted DC-10-10 jet aircraft that flies to developing countries on its mission to end avoidable blindness worldwide.
Dr. Suh will lead a one-week pediatric ophthalmology eye program in Angeles City, the Philippines, on how to manage and surgically treat blinding eye conditions in children. “Eye misalignment occurs in a large percentage of children, and we don’t know why. The problem is generally treatable through surgery and can alleviate a great deal of psychosocial complications. Statistically, people with strabismus or crossed eyes have a more difficult time adapting to the world than other people. I hope not only to help the ophthalmologists in the Philippines develop their knowledge of how to treat children with strabismus, but to encourage the local medical community to place more emphasis on treatment of children,” notes Dr. Suh on his third ORBIS program.
The goal of the three-week ORBIS program in Angeles City is to strengthen the abilities of eye care workers to diagnose, manage and treat eye diseases. Medical training programs will be held both on and off the ORBIS aircraft, providing hands-on training to doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers, and healthcare workers. The flying eye hospital, which has visited the Philippines eight times since 1982, has a complete on-board operating room, laser/exam room, sterile room, recovery room, technical training center, and a 48-seat classroom equipped with an interactive audio-visual system. While surgery is taking place in the operating room, doctors and nurses sit in the classroom and watch the procedure live.
When the ORBIS plane and Dr. Suh depart the Philippines, training will continue through hospital-based programs, fellowships, internet-based telemedicine, and the creation and dissemination of education materials, allowing eye care specialists to strengthen their skills, and in turn, train others to treat and manage eye diseases.
About ORBIS
Since 1982, ORBIS – a non-profit, humanitarian organization – has been dedicated to saving sight and eliminating avoidable blindness worldwide. ORBIS responds to the needs of developing nations – where 90% of blind people live – with hands-on training for eye care professionals, public education about blindness and technical assistance to improve access to quality ophthalmic services. Since 1982, ORBIS has conducted more than 500 training programs in 82 countries, teaching sight-saving skills to more than 63,000 healthcare professionals, who in turn have treated an estimated 17.5 million people.