Las Vegas Surgeons Help Train Vietnamese Eye Doctors

Ophthalmologists Kenneth Westfield, MD and Hon-Vu Duong, MD, along with Ophthalmic Tech Ms. Nancy Evangelisti , all of Westfield Eye Center in Las Vegas, traveled to Viet Nam last month to lecture and demonstrate surgical techniques to Vietnamese eye doctors. rnrnThe three served as volunteer faculty members for the Imperial City Eye Meeting (ICEM) in Hue, Viet Nam, sponsored by Hawaiian Eye Foundation in partnership with Hue Central Hospital. rnrnThe fourth biennial ICEM, the largest eye surgical training program in Southeast Asia, took place April 3rd to 6th, 2012. The meeting was attended by 350 eye doctors from throughout Viet Nam, who came to learn from 26 leading eye specialists from five countries. Attendees represented almost 25% of the approximately 1,500 ophthalmologists that serve Viet Nam’s population of over 85 million. rnrnICEM’s four-day program included training in treatment of cataract, corneal, and retinal disease; ocular reconstructive surgery; and glaucoma diagnosis and treatment. Daily lectures were simultaneously translated into Vietnamese. Concurrent wet-lab sessions offered individualized instruction in cataract surgery, operating under powerful microscopes on pigs’ eyes. rnrnThe conference was supported by nine U.S. and Asian equipment, instrument, and pharmaceutical companies that exhibited and demonstrated their products and services. rnrnThe non-profit Hawaiian Eye Foundation, based in Honolulu, has sponsored eye care training programs in Southeast Asia since 2006, and for over 25 years has conducted humanitarian eye surgery expeditions to Pacific island nations, including Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Palau, and Kiribati. rnrnFor more information about Hawaiian Eye Foundation, or to make a tax deductible contribution in support of the organization’s sight-saving work, see http://www.hawaiianeyefoundation.org.