Eye centre brings succour to cataract patients

Many people are blind due to cataract and other avoidable eye related problems. However, with the gesture of a United States-based Nigerian Ophthalmologist, Dr. Godwin Stanley Okoye, owner of Africa Eye Laser Centre, quite a number have regained their sight. Commenting on the success of the exercise, Dr. Okoye said, “In the past five years, […]

Many people are blind due to cataract and other avoidable eye related problems. However, with the gesture of a United States-based Nigerian Ophthalmologist, Dr. Godwin Stanley Okoye, owner of Africa Eye Laser Centre, quite a number have regained their sight.

Commenting on the success of the exercise, Dr. Okoye said, “In the past five years, we have performed surgery on over 600 cataract patients and it was 100 per cent successful. So the surgery we do here is to clear the window that allows them to see”, adding that his proceeds from the surgery was plugged back to help those who could not afford it, which he said had resulted in 10 patients undergoing free treatment.

Daily Trust learned that Dr. Okoye, who is in collaboration with Sharp Sight Shinon, New Delhi, India, and is supported by St. Jude’s Eye Clinic Missions Corporation, United States of America, organises subsidised eye surgery every November, to commemorate World Sight Day.

One of the beneficiaries of the surgery, Chief Issac Ogafua, the Ayoba of Benin Kingdom, spoke to our reporter after regaining his sight.

“I had been with the problem for several years and it got to a point that even with glasses, I could not move freely without hitting objects on the way. I went to an eye foundation in Lagos and I was told the surgery would cost N750, 000 for each eye, meaning that the two eyes would cost N1.5 million, excluding the cost of tests that would be carried out. Since I didn’t have such money, I left everything to God.”

He said he got to know of the hospital in August this year through his daughter, adding that when he approached Dr. Okoye’s foundation he was asked to come by September when the Indian doctors would be around.

“By September, they called me that the doctors were around and when I came, they carried out series of tests and I paid N250, 000 instead of the N1.5 million I was told in Lagos. Unlike what I was told in Lagos, I didn’t feel any pain during and after the surgery, they told me to remove the bandage after 24 hours and as soon as I removed it I started seeing everything and I now read without glasses,” he said.

On his part, a lawyer, Peter Inegbedion, said he was not able to read or recognise things before his wife was told about the hospital.

“When the problem started, I was referred to Irrua Specialist Hospital where I was diagnosed with cataract, but instead of alleviating the problem, it turned from bad to worse after the surgery, as I was not able to see after the surgery,” he related.

“However, when my wife told me about the hospital with Indian doctors, I decided to give it a trial.

“The surgery was carried out on November 18, and they gave me 24 hours to remove the bandage and I would see again. I took the drugs they gave me and when my wife opened it after 24 hours, I saw her face clearly for the first time in three years,” he said.

Another beneficiary, Engr. Jonathan Omoregbe, said, “When I came to this centre, they conducted tests and asked me to come at the end of November. On my appointment date, they told me that the cost was N250, 000 and I paid. Under five minutes, the surgery was over. The Indian doctors only asked me to remove the bandage after 24 hours and they gave me drugs. Behold, when I removed it, I was seeing light, I closed the one that was not affected by cataract to verify and it was true,” he said.