We often forget that things are different here than in much of the rest of the world.

When we develop a vision problem, we take for granted that we will be able to schedule an eye exam with an optometrist with an office located conveniently close to home or work.

However, in the remote areas of developing countries like Ethiopia, people often live their entire lives without access to an eye doctor and the good vision they need to survive in harsh conditions. They live without electricity, plumbing, modern communications, and treatment for conditions that can lead to blindness, like cataracts and trachoma.

These people can’t go to an eye doctor, so Dr. Alan Shiller of Shiller Vision Center of Palestine did something he had been wanting to do for years…he went to them.

After months of careful planning and with the help of Westwood Baptist Church, Shiller was ready to go. Equipment and medications in tow, Dr. Shiller, his daughter Lauren, assistant Angie Rogers, and minister Stan Chambers arrived in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa on October 1. From there, it was a four-hour drive into the first of several mountain villages where they would spend a total of eight days diagnosing and treating eye conditions in makeshift clinics. The remaining five days would be spent in one of the villages, Alum Ketema, performing eye surgery.

Their patients walked for as long as four days over rough terrain to reach Alum Ketema. Hundreds of people spent days and nights in line waiting for help. Shiller had brought his 13-year-old daughter on the missionary trip to broaden her horizons and to lend a hand as needed. As the line of patients grew longer, however, it quickly became apparent that he needed an additional assistant. Shiller gave Lauren a short course on screening for cataracts, nearsightedness, and corneal scars associated with trachoma infection; she also learned to administer antibiotic eye drops to treat the infection. A quick learner, Lauren examined and diagnosed patients on one side of the room, while on the other side, her father (assisted by Rogers) used his portable operative microscope to remove hundreds of cataracts. Shiller also performed radial keratotomy procedures to alleviate nearsightedness, and eyelid surgery to prevent corneal scarring that leads to blindness. Chambers, a former missionary fluent in the language of the area, served as interpreter.

Outside, helpers kept the diesel-fueled generators running to provide the electricity needed for lighting and to power surgical equipment.

Conditions are quite primitive in Ethiopia’s remote villages. “The biggest problems were the flies that were everywhere,” Shiller says, “particularly in surgery, where they swarmed around my eyes and ears while I was operating.”

How many patients were treated? “We’re not sure, because we didn’t have time for record-keeping,” Shiller says.  He adds that there are no birth and death records, so many of the people seeking treatment don’t know their dates of birth or how old they are.

Dr. Shiller found the Ethiopians to be incredibly accepting and friendly. He and his daughter felt completely safe, but they were stunned by the number of people who desperately needed help with vision-threatening conditions. “We ran out of time and supplies, so we’re planning to return next year to the same area,” Shiller says. “We want to develop long-term relationships with the people of that region.”

Shiller’s daughter Lauren wants to go back, too. Her father observes that she has already seen more cases of trachoma than most eye specialists in the United States will see in years of practice.

As the team was leaving the village to return to Texas, Shiller gave his last bottle of antibiotic eye drops to an older man who pressed him to accept a small hand-made horse hair broom. “It’s used to shoo away flies,” says Shiller, laughing, “and it will sure come in handy on my next visit!”

What is TRACHOMA?

Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, affects approximately 84 million people, most of whom live in developing countries like Ethiopia. The infection can scar the inside of the upper eyelid. These scars damage the cornea (the clear covering of the eye’s surface) and cause blindness. Trachoma can be treated with antibiotics, but eyelid surgery may be needed to prevent or limit corneal damage.

What is RADIAL KERATOTOMY?

Also called “RK,” this surgical procedure involves a pattern of small incisions on the surface of the cornea. These incisions correct nearsightedness by giving the cornea a flatter contour.

Fitting, dispensing, wearing, and maintaining eye glasses would be nearly impossible in the remote areas Dr. Shiller visited. Under the circumstances, RK is the more practical method for quickly correcting nearsightedness.

 

Modern cataract surgery is safe, comfortable convenient, effective, and affordable, and YOU don’t have to walk for miles and stand in line to get it!

Simply call Shiller Vision Center at (903) 723-1010 to schedule a consultation.  Medicare assignment accepted.