UAE | General
16-month-old to see again
Noor Dubai enables poor family's baby girl to undergo surgery for glaucoma.
- By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:07 September 24, 2008
- Image Credit: Sunita Menon/Gulf News
- Dr Lama Al Aswad performed the surgery on Carri-mariam.
Dubai: Words failed to express Khajakita's delight when the young Malian mother was told that her 16-month-old baby girl Carri-mariam will have clear vision.
Video: Watch Carri-mariam's critical eye surgery
Her daughter had congenital glaucoma in both eyes. Mother and daughter travelled all the way from Sigou, a remote village in Mali, to Dubai for surgery and treatment under the Noor Dubai project.
While surgeons at the Dubai hospital performed the delicate surgery on Carri-mariam's eyes, Khajakita waited anxiously outside. An hour later a nurse called out, "Here comes Carri-mariam" as she threw open the doors leading to the operating theatres.
Khajakita ran towards the nurse who stood with Carri-mariam in her arms, neatly wrapped in a yellow blanket and sporting a fresh white plaster on her eyes. Holding her daughter, Khajakita said: "I am very happy."
Professor Janet Crowley, who accompanied the team of patients from Mali, said that when Khajakita came to their hospital, located in the capital city of Bamako, she was being treated free and also had plans for surgery.
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"But when Noor Dubai was announced, we found it appropriate to bring her here. Khajakita, who is very poor, has no means to treat her child who was born with large eyes that were affected by congenital glaucoma. It was imperative that Carri-mariam get her eyes operated on, otherwise she ran the risk of going blind," said Crowley.
Both mother and daughter will leave for Mali on September 27, but Crowley is worried about the follow-up treatment.
Concerns
"There will be many difficulties because she is not from the capital city. She lives in Sigou, which is 200 kilometres from Bamako.
"It's good that we did the surgery, but we need to follow the patient's progress. We need to see what conditions we can offer her. Lack of money will be one of the main problems Khajakita will face because to travel back and forth from her village will be expensive.
"We don't have that much money to pay for patients' transport and follow-up that she needs. That's another problem that we have to manage," said Crowley.
Dr Lama Al Aswad, assistant professor and glaucoma specialist at Columbia University, a visiting surgeon under Noor Dubai, performed the surgery on Carri-mariam. She said the baby had a hazy cornea.
"She is nearsighted. She is going to require glasses. We have cleared the cornea and her vision will improve. She will recover faster. In most cases the problem is at least controlled, but a lot of these patients need surgery as time goes by," said Al Aswad.
Dr Afaq Al Mashari, executive manager of Noor Dubai, said the response has been overwhelming since the launch of the project.
She said most of the cases are being identified by Noor Dubai international partners Lions international and Orbis, a non-profit organisation that fights blindness in developing countries.
Facts
What is Noor dubai?
Noor Dubai is an international charitable initiative for the prevention and treatment of blindness and poor vision. On September 3, at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the project.
This is an ambitious initiative that aims to deliver preventive eye care to over one million people as part of its drive to realise its vision of a world free from curable forms of blindness.
Noor Dubai is the latest effort demonstrating Dubai's continued commitment to being a responsible global citizen and to helping the less fortunate.
What is congenital glaucoma?
It is an inherited form of glaucoma. It is present at birth, with 80 per cent of cases diagnosed when the child is a year old. Children with congenital glaucoma are born with narrow angles or some other defect in the drainage system of the eye.
It is difficult to spot signs of congenital glaucoma because children are too young to understand what is happening to them. If you notice a cloudy, white, hazy, enlarged or protruding eye in your child, consult your eye doctor. Sometimes its symptoms are not recognised until later in infancy or early childhood.
Primary congenital glaucoma is characterised by the improper development of the eye's drainage channels. Because of this, the channels that normally drain from inside the eye do not function properly.
More fluid is continually being produced but cannot be drained because of the improperly functioning drainage channels. This leads to high pressure inside the eye, called intraocular pressure (IOP).
Eye pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). Normal eye pressure ranges from 10-21 mm Hg. Elevated IOP is an eye pressure of greater than 21 mm Hg.
An increase in IOP can damage the optic nerve and result in vision loss and even blindness. In approximately 75 per cent of cases, primary congenital glaucoma occurs in both eyes.
Have your say
Do you know anyone who has benefitted from the campaign? Would you like more such campaigns to be organised to address the issue? Do you know of any other organisation that focuses on a specific ailment? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
Your comments
My 67 year old father has become blind since 11 years apparently due to Retina Degeneration. Is there any way we could visit Noor Dubai to see if there are any chances to regain his sight? Kindly provide their address either in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and the Doctor we can talk to by phone or E-mail.
Thanks and regards
Sana
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2008, 11:02
Every article of Noor Dubai that gulf news delivers us brings tears of joy to my eyes and every tears gives lots of blessings and a hearty thankx to Shaikh Mohammad and the entire team of Noor Dubai.
Tanzila
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2008, 10:48
My heart filled with happiness to know that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has opened its door through Noor Dubai to the needy ones. I wish Noor Dubai all the best. Thank you.
Azur
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2008, 09:45
My mother had cornia replacement of one eye 7-8 years before. For some times vision was OK but after some times she lost the vision of the same eye. please advise any further rtreatment is possible or not.?
Mumtaz
Mohd
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 24, 2008, 06:49
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