Cataract Surgery: 500 cases announced for May 2016

Patients with eye diseases are welcomed from Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and pediatric of Yaounde (HGOPY).

Cécile Kenmogne Kamga, a septuagenarian, heard the news from the “mouth-to-ear,” technique according to the national daily newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, published on Friday, April 15, 2016. The old lady did not want to miss this free opportunity. “I learned through a neighbor. Not having enough financial means, I came here to get my surgery because am almost blind” she said.

These cataract operations are part of the preparation of the Action Light project (Action Lumière in French) funded by China and implemented in Cameroon through the Ministry of Public Health. The HGOPY and the Mbalmayo hospital were selected as managers of the surgeries. “We welcome them in order of arrival, and we have cards on which are written the names and phone numbers before taking their parameters,” explains Véronique Elomo, a nurse at HGOPY.

After recording, the patients pass to the visual acuity step performed by Dr. William Nzokou. This step enables them to decipher the letters of the alphabet and numbers from a distance. It is during the consultation proper that the disease is confirmed, and the patient is declared eligible. “We have already registered 58 patients and by the end of the testing campaign, we hope to reach our quota of 350 patients,” said an official of the HGOPY.

This campaign provides for the operation of 500 cataract cases including 350 at the HGOPY and 200 in Mbalmayo from 14 May 2016. “The patients come from Yaounde and the surrounding communities. These operations will relieve the sick to the extent that, out of the campaigns, it costs at least 150 000 F for treatment. We insist on patients over 50 years because it is at this age that this evil is more common, “notes Dr. William Nzokou.