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Cornea Clinic's exemplary service

SABRINA KARIM MURSHED
Three-year-old Sabbir Hossain was resting on his mother's lap with his eyes bandaged. A day earlier, he had undergone a surgery at the Cornea Clinic of Islamia Eye Hospital after suffering corneal damage while playing.
"His eyes were saved thanks to the doctors of this hospital," said his father Yunus Patwari who brought his son all the way from Chandpur.
Established in collaboration with an international non-profit organisation called ORBIS International, the Cornea Clinic is offering exemplary treatment at a nominal cost to many others like
Sabbir who suffer from cornea related diseases. At the same time, the clinic is training doctors.
Doctors at the hospital said corneal disease is the second largest cause of blindness in Bangladesh. At least 1.3 million people are blind in the country.
"Last year we treated 1,60,000 patients and around 17,000 of them suffered from corneal diseases," said Zahida Ispahani, advisor of the hospital. She said the cornea unit had existed as a sub-specialty of the comprehensive eye hospital since 1995 but they improved it more in 2003 with the help from ORBIS International.
Known as a service oriented organisation, the hospital is pro-
viding treatment with a team of seven doctors. Registration fee is only Tk 20 at the Cornea Clinic.
"Once a patient buys a registration ticket, a doctor sees him and medical investigations are done," said Dr. Syed A. Hasan, a consultant cornea and phaco surgeon of the hospital. The medical history and treatment provided to him are kept in record for future references. Corneal replacement, which is the ultimate treatment for corneal ailment, can be done for only Tk 3,000 at the clinic.
"Even that charge is waived for people who are unable to afford the replacement," the doctor said.
"During the last six months, we found that at least 48 percent of patients were suffering from
corneal ulcer," said Dr. Hasan. He added that early detection and correct treatment of corneal ulcer could prevent blindness.
People belonging to the low-income groups contact corneal ulcer most, said doctors of the clinic. "People who work with crops or are involved in construction work, suffer from corneal ulcer as their eyes are always exposed to minute husks," said Dr Hasan. Accidental trauma is another reason for corneal ulcer.
"Children sometimes suffer from corneal ulcer due to malnutrition but mostly they get it through injuries while playing. Lack of awareness was another reason why corneal ulcer cases are on the up in the country. "Even those who do not work, keep staring at crops that are whisked, making them prone to corneal ulcer," said Dr. Hasan.
"Our organisation thought of assisting in corneal training programmes as Bangladesh lack trained doctors in the sector," said Shabbir Uddin Ahmed, programme officer of ORBIS International. At present the organisation along with L.V. Prasad Eye Institute of India is conducting both short term and long term training at Islamia Eye Hospital.
"Our goal is to enable them to identify corneal diseases and provide initial treatment," said Ahmed. The clinic offers longterm training of one year and an eight-week long short-term course. So far 16 doctors have trained at the clinic.
"The training is very helpful at it provides practical experience," said Dr. Dijendra Saha of Dhaka Mahanagar Hospital who had participated in a short course.