285 million people in the world are visually impaired of these 246 million have low vision and 39 million are blind. Eighty percent of the world’s visually impaired suffer from conditions that are avoidable or curable but go untreated due to lack of access to quality eye care.
ORBIS provides medical communities in developing countries with the skills, knowledge and resources to prevent and treat several diseases that cause blindness. Conditions we treat include:
Diseases treated through oculoplastic surgery
ORBIS medical faculty also train local doctors in oculoplastic surgery, which includes repair of the eye socket (orbit), eyelids, and tear production and drainage. Oculoplastic surgery may be performed to preserve sight as well as to enhance appearance.
Conditions that commonly require oculoplastic surgery in developing countries include:
- Drooping upper eyelid (ptosis)
- Scarring of the upper eyelid, caused by trachoma, age or trauma, which prevents the lid from covering the entire eye
- Blocked tear ducts
- Trauma causing a fracture to the bones surrounding the eye (socket/orbit)
- Tumors within the orbit, eye or tear gland or pressing against the eye (orbital tumor)
Oculoplastic surgery includes placement of an artificial eye (prosthesis) when eye removal is necessary. Oculoplastic surgical skills are in extremely short supply in developing countries.
Click here to view a slideshow on conditions treated through oculoplastic surgery.
