16 April 2010
Indigenous patients from eight Northern Territory remote communities will receive sight-saving surgery during a week of intensive eye-surgery at the Alice Springs Hospital next week.
Fifty patients from remote communities spanning Central Australia and the Barkly region will arrive in Alice Springs on Sunday.
The patients are aged from 25 to 80-years-old and have been identified as requiring eye surgery to address various conditions.
Dr Tim Henderson, Ophthalmologist and Director of the Alice Springs Hospital Eye Department said cataract surgery removes cataracts and replaces the lens with a new implant.
"This surgery is often sight restoring and gives patients their life back,' said Dr Tim Henderson
"Cataracts are generally the main eye surgery issue we see, many patients in Central Australia put up with poor vision and present for surgery rather late so it can sometimes be very challenging.
"Eye lid surgery (Entropion correction) stops trachoma's from causing blindness and Pterygium surgery removes a sheet of scar tissue from the front of the eye to stop it growing to block vision.
"During the week we aim to perform 10 operations a day."
Since 2007 there have been eight Intensive Eye Surgery weeks at Alice Springs Hospital, with a total of 416 patients receiving surgery.
The Northern Territory Department of Health and Families together with The Fred Hollows Foundation, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Congress and Anyinginyi have worked together to run the Intensive Eye Surgery weeks effectively.
Media contacts: Chelsea Rogers 0401 114 113
