Cataract surgery at district hospital level.
Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide, curable though, by a simple procedure. The backlog of cataract patients in developing countries is mounting despite sustainable and downright efforts by health ministries, international voluntary and non-governmental organisations [1]. The current situation has put many developing countries in a difficult dilemma. The authors present a review of a pilot-project in decentralised eye-care in Mutasa District, Zimbabwe. Cataract surgery is performed by a district general doctor as an alternative to clearing the cataract back-log in developing countries, as suggested in several studies [2-5]. It is important to persuade the health ministries to adopt this simple and cheap policy [6,7].
van der Windt
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Eye-Unit Bonda Hospital, Eye-Department Sakubva Hospital/Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially-Sighted, Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Chana
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HS
D002387:Cataract Extraction; D003906:Developing Countries; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D014792:Visual Acuity; D015030:Zimbabwe