HCP Cataract Workshop in Mekelle, Ethiopia provides 598 sight-restoring surgeries

Patients await screening at Quiha

Dr. Oliva & Dr. Meshesha examine a patient

Surgical patients

HCP Board Member Dr. Matt Oliva and HCP Fellow Dr. Tilahun Kiros Meshesha oversaw a cataract workshop in Mekelle, Ethiopia at the Quiha Hospital where  598 patients received sight-restoring surgery from November 4 – 9, 2009.  As part of the workshop, Drs. Oliva and Meshesha performed ten corneal transplants on bilaterally blind patients.  Patients had been prescreened across the Tigray region prior to the workshop.

Earlier this year, Dr. Meshesha trained at the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, UT and at Medical Eye Center in Medford, OR as an HCP Fellow.  Dr. Meshesha is one of the highest volume cataract surgeons in Ethiopia, providing critical care in the Tigray Region.

Watch a VIDEO about previous HCP work in Ethiopia with Dr. Tilahun and his team from Quiha.

Dr. Oliva continued to Malawi to visit the Millennium Village of Mwandama, Malawi in preparation for an eye care intervention in 2010.