There is a piece of exciting news to share with you. I was unnecessarily excited, yet there is nothing to be excited about. We just sent Dr. Carreras to Leh to go around the villages, to help local Ladakhis who may be suffering from eye problems. He and his wife have been staying with us in Kathmandu for almost one month and he has been setting up an eye clinic and training up 14 of my nuns to be medical assistants in this area. Dr. Carreras is such a generous and kind doctor, not only he donated all the expensive eye treatment and checking devices, but also he came personally to help and to train my nuns, so that my nuns can also help many beings in the practical sense. This I believe will strengthen their own spiritual practice and is indeed LIVE TO LOVE IN ACTION.
Dr. Carreras told me that Acute Glaucoma, also known as angle-closure glaucoma, is one of the main causes of acquired blindness. There are a large number of patients with Acute Glaucoma, particularly in Asian countries. Usually vision deteriorates within a short time after the attack of Acute Glaucoma. In some cases, because there are not subjective symptoms previous to the attack, it is not detected in regular health examinations. In contrast to other forms of glaucoma, the onset of Acute Glaucoma can be prevented in many cases by laser treatment, and the effects of that treatment can potentially last throughout the patient’s life. Despite the availability of preventive treatment, it is difficult for nonophthalmologists to detect eyes with possible Acute Glaucoma. As a result, many patients suffer from serious visual impairment and blindness than can be easily avoided. Glaucoma is the second cause of blindness in the world. Acute glaucoma represents the majority of primary glaucomas among Chinese and Mongolians. Similar racial groups as Tibetans, Ladakhis and many of the Himalayan people must have similar rates. It is estimated that up to a 10% of the population older that 40 years may suffer the disease. It is specially frequent among women.
Dr. Carreras also told me that risk populations are those patients older than 40 years that have a potentially occludable angle. The anterior chamber depth is directly related to the occludable angle. Then, measuring anterior chamber depth with an adequate method may allow to select, among those older that 40, the patients at risk. The shallower the anterior chamber the greater the risk. Peripheral laser iridotomy is the election procedure to prevent that eyes with shallow anterior chambers develop angle closure glaucoma. All patients with high risk of developing angle closure glaucoma may receive preventive laser treatment if they ask for it after being informed of the risks. All patients with ongoing attack of angle closure may receive curative laser treatment if the disease is not very advanced. Due to the difficulty of traveling in low populated areas some events, like concentrations that happen during religious festivals and gatherings, can be used to offer medical assistance to treat or prevent Angle Closure Glaucoma.
I was informed that 2 instruments are needed in Leh, Ladakh, to help the people there. Dr. Carreras and his wife have gone to Ladakh to survey the situation, and also give some help at the same time. In case any of you know of some information of these instruments, please inform my office about it.
 A YAG laser is an essential requisite. Laser Yag (Visulas II de Zeiss) |
 A Scanning Peripheral Anterior Chamber depht analizer (SPAC) is also an important requisite to select patients at risk out of the general population. |
Here are some of the recent photos at the Druk Pema Karpo Clinic that I would like to share with you, actually I don't know why I have to put these things up on my website. Clinic has their own website which should have these photos, I guess I must be so excited about this development, so since I have a bit of time, I am just putting this news here for the fun of it. I hope these details and information will come up soon in the official Clinic website, which I have asked Jigme Urgyen, whom you all know as Joel, to finish soon:
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