Month: August 2019

August, 21 2019, Dubai: Summer in the UAE is synonymous with dust, harsh sunlight, excessive outdoor heat, which present challenges and cause a rise in eye infections and diseases, eye specialists at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai warn.
Summer weather can pose several potential hazards to your vision including eye sunburn and dry eyes, which are very painful and often lead to uncomfortable symptoms like extreme sensitivity to light, excessive tearing and a gritty sensation in the eyes.
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai shared helpful tips and insights on how we can keep ourselves and the kids safe and healthy under the sun.
“As we are enjoying the hot summer and outdoor activities, we should not forget to take the proper protective measures to keep our eyes safe and healthy.” Dr Namir Kafil-Hussain, Consultant Pediatric Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai. He said it is the season where people should realise the importance of eye care and consider implementing effective solutions to protect their eyes.
Dr Hussain endorses taking the following precautions to get the most out of the season while decreasing any risk:
1. Wear sunglasses with full UV protection and a hat when outside. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is much stronger in summer. Due to long exposure to UV rays emitted from the sun, it might burn the surface of the eye causing pain, redness and blurriness.
2. Always wear swimming goggles. Chlorine as a disinfectant in the pool’s water, which affects tear film causing redness and gritty sensation. Therefore, it is important to wear protective swim goggles to keep your eyes safe and healthy.
3. Use artificial tears or other lubricating eye drops. Enjoying sunny dry weather might have an adverse effect on your eyes, resulting in dry gritty sensation by increasing the evaporation rates of tear film. It is vital to wear sunglasses to protect the eyes from winds and dust and use artificial tears to keep the eyes moist and refreshed.
4. Whether it’s at the beach, in the pool or on the playground, never forget to pack some summer safety tips before you go. Protective glasses or goggles are very important when we spend more time for outdoor activities that could cause eye injury. The incidence of eye injuries increases with gardening, mowing the lawn and playing sports.
5. Eat nutrient-rich foods to boost eye health. There are many foods that are rich in nutrients and can improve eyesight and prevent long term vision problems, such as carrots, broccoli, spinach, fish and fruits.
6. Quit smoking. Smoking has long term adverse effects on vision. It has been related to macular degeneration, cataracts and eye complications of diabetes.
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai provides world class outpatient diagnostic and treatment for the full range of both surgical and non-surgical related eye conditions, for both adults and children, from basic screenings and eye health checks, to retinal surgery, laser refractive surgery, cataracts, corneal grafts, diabetic retinopathy treatment, squint correction surgery, oculoplastic surgery, genetic eye disease consultations and counseling, and ocular oncology services through permanent and visiting consultants.

14 August 2019, Dubai – United Arab Emirates: A doctor from one of UAE’s leading private eye care hospitals helped correct and improve the vision of dozens of patients with difficult access to healthcare in India during a recent visit to the country.
Dr Luisa Sastre, cataract surgeon and specialist ophthalmologist in medical retina at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, was invited to the Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, to treat local patients suffering from cataracts.
Over the course of 10 days, Dr Luisa treated 43 men and women suffering from the debilitating eye condition that can impact a person’s sight to the point where their vision is almost completely clouded over.
“It’s the most rewarding feeling, being able to enhance people’s lives by improving their vision,” said Dr Luisa, who decided to visit India after seeing an appeal for doctors to help at the Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital.
After receiving the full backing of the management at Moorfields, which encourages medical staff from all departments to take part in projects and campaigns to help the wider community in the UAE and abroad, Dr Luisa travelled to Jodhpur in northern India.
“I contacted Dr Sanjiv Desai, one of the owners of the hospital, about the cataract surgery ‘camps’ and became a member of SEE International, an American NGO that has been helping Dr Sanjiv for 20 years,” said Dr Luisa. “I was accredited by the Medical Council of India and I travelled to Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital.”
Founded by Dr Navin Desai, Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital is run as a charitable trust and year after year, hosts opthalmologists from all over the world, that come to help when the hospital runs free cataract surgery campaigns (referred to as ‘camps’) for people living in the most deprived communities in Rajasthan. .-. Many of whom are affected by cataracts and other eye diseases.
Dr Luisa’s skills are much needed not only in Rajasthan but India in general. A recent ‘National Blindness Survey’ of 90,000 people, carried out in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Science, found that 62-65% of those surveyed were suffering from cataracts.
Cataracts are caused by the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which causes blurry vision and sensitivity to light and glare. They are most common in people over 40 years old.
Treatment involves surgery to remove the cloudy lens material from the effected eye, replacing it with an artificial plastic lens. A painless operation, the procedure takes 15-20 minutes and can be performed under local anesthesia.
Since it opened in Dubai, Moorfields’ skilled team of ophthalmologists has helped over 5,000 people suffering from cataracts in the UAE.
Dr Luisa, who had only started working at Moorfields a few months before traveling to India, thanked the hospital for supporting both her and Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital’s ongoing mission to treat patients.
“I truly appreciated being given the opportunity by Moorfields to visit India; to leave my comfort zone and help so many people,” said Dr Luisa, adding that she would not hesitate to return to Jodhpur and the Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital in the future.
Dr Luisa’s trip reflected the core values of Moorfields and advanced the hospital’s commitment to participate in a wide range of corporate social responsibility programmes.
The hospital provides world class outpatient diagnosis and treatment for the full range of both surgical and non-surgical related eye conditions, for adults and children, from basic screenings and eye health checks, to retinal surgery, laser refractive surgery, cataracts, corneal grafts, diabetic retinopathy treatment, squint correction surgery, oculoplastic surgery, genetic eye disease consultations and counseling, and ocular oncology services through permanent and visiting consultants.

1 August 2019, Dubai – United Arab Emirates: Shadi Z credits the care, attention and expertise of doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai with helping him to cope with the shock of being diagnosed with a potentially vision and life-threatening condition.
The 43-year-old from Jordan visited the specialist eye hospital after suffering from weak vision and headaches.
Shadi, who works as an MEP Manager in Dubai, initially ignored the problem, putting it down to long hours using a computer in the office and stress at work.
However, when the issue persisted, he was persuaded to visit Moorfields by concerned friends and colleagues from the UK.
Shadi was assessed by Dr. Luisa Sastre, Specialist Ophthalmologist in Medical Retina at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai. After the initial assessment, Dr. Luisa ordered multiple tests to be carried out in order to diagnose the problem. The first one was a refraction test, which measures an individual’s prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses, done by optometrist, Mr. Taisear Alqwaqezah. After trials with a number of lenses, Mr. Taisear knew that the problem was not just with Shadi’s vision and proceeded to share the results with Dr. Luisa.
Among the tests ordered was a procedure named a visual field test. This ultimately showed that Shadi had lost his vision in the outer half of both his right and left visual fields. This partial blindness is called bitemporal hemianopsia and almost always occurs as a result of direct compression to a visual structure called the optic chiasm.
As a result of this, Dr. Luisa ordered a brain CT scan, which showed that Shadi had a pituitary macroadenoma – a tumor of the pituitary gland that was compressing the optic chiasm.
The pituitary gland is located behind the bridge of the nose and is attached to the base of the brain by a thin stalk. It secretes a large number of hormones and controls other hormone glands such as the adrenals, the thyroid, the ovaries and the testicles.
Potentially a life threatening condition, pituitary tumors, if left untreated, can result in headaches, significant visual problems and a host of other serious symptoms derived from an increase or a decrease in the production of important hormones.
While the news came as a shock to Shadi, Dr. Luisa looked to comfort her patient, explaining clearly the process of the procedure required to remove the tumor and the amount of recovery time that was required. She continued to reassure Shadi of the improvements he would witness after the procedure and about how his eyesight would improve.
“Dr Luisa was very professional,” said Shadi. “She spoke directly with me and explained the medical terms and procedures. She also explained how tests assisted in identifying the problem and how the findings were linked to symptoms. Her professional approach was very clear and based on many years of experience.”
Dr. Luisa holds a Board Certification in Intensive Care Medicine and in her years of working in Intensive Care Units (ICU), she has helped to take care of many patients like Shadi when they were admitted to the ICU after neurosurgery to remove the pituitary tumors.
“She knew exactly the process I was going to undergo and she explained to me how the tumor was going to be removed through my nose and how easygoing the post-op was going to be. That was a great relief.”
“After being diagnosed correctly by Dr. Luisa and Mr. Taisear, they also assisted in recommending the next steps and went even further by advising the appropriate medical provider with the specific skills required to perform the procedure,” said Shadi.
“This was highly appreciated and had a great impact in finding a solution for my problem in record time. All this gave me great confidence in their care.”
Soon after, Shadi successfully underwent the procedure to remove the tumor at a general hospital in Dubai.
Care for Shadi did simply not halt after his procedure. The team at Moorfields was in constant communication with the patient to assess his recovery and carry out regular check-ups. An aftercare service that helped Shadi to get back on his feet.
“Even after my treatment, I was obliged to provide feedback to Dr. Luisa and Mr. Taisear, as I felt that they wanted to know and cared about knowing how I was recovering and feeling after surgery,” said Shadi.
“This exceeded the usual professional relationship that doctors and patients share. It was very caring and filled with genuine concern. It was medical care at its best.”
Shadi now attends Moorfields for regular check-ups with staff to receive ongoing health advice to aid his recovery.
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai provides world-class outpatient diagnostic and treatment for the full range of both surgical and non-surgical related eye conditions, for both adults and children. From basic screenings and eye health checks, to retinal surgery, laser refractive surgery, cataracts, corneal grafts, diabetic retinopathy treatment, squint correction surgery, oculoplastic surgery, genetic eye disease consultations alongside counseling, and even ocular oncology services through permanent and visiting consultants.