Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, Chief Medical Officer of Aravind - Tirunelveli received the Vocational Excellence Award conferred on Aravind Eye Care System in recognition of its adherence to highest ethical standards, and promotion of humanitarian service in eradicating avoidable blindness in the human society.The award was given by the Rotary Club of Nagercoil on July 3.

Dr. Usha Kim, Chief-Orbit and Oculoplasty clinic, Aravind - Madurai was conferred the Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary Club of Madurai North West on July 4 for her noble and committed services to the needy and visually impaired patients through free eye camps and providing light of life to see the world again.

A new vision centre was inaugurated at Kariyapatti by Dr. Lakshmi Rahmatullah on June 11. Senior members of Aravind attended the function.

Mission Day was celebrated across all Aravind Hospitals. The programme began by observing a moment of silence. Bhajans were sung and kolams and special flower arrangements were made during the occasion. Video clippings about Dr. V were shown. The staff and the guests shared their association with the Chief at the programmme.

  Dr. R. Ramakrishnan
- Recent advances and surgical management of glaucoma
He also chaired the session on Diagnostics in Glaucoma

  Dr. V. R. Saravanan, Aravind - Coimbatore participated in the Advisory committee meeting organised by Allergan for the launch of Dexamethasone laser.

MLOPs who have completed 5 years of service were taken on a one day tour to Kanyakumari and Bay Watch, Water amusement park and Thovalai Murugan temple.
At another programme organised, all the MLOPs of Tuticorin Community Centre were taken to The Great Royal Circus.

Dr. Haripriya Aravind, Chief – IOL and Cataract Services, Aravind – Madurai formally inaugurated the phaco training centre at CEITC, Chittagong. She worked with some of their phaco surgeons and performed live surgery as part of teaching. Lectures on Phacodynamics and Recent Advancements in Phaco Technology were given.

An Award Day function is organised by each Lions District every year in order to recognise and appreciate the services rendered by the Lions clubs in the district. The Lions District 324 A2 (includes Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Karaikkal, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur, Pudukottai and Trichy revenue districts) organised its Award Day on June 20 at which Aravind's senior Camp Organiser Mr.S.Selvam was presented 'The Best Organiser' award by the District Governor Ln. R.R. Kannan MJF and Ln. P.L. Meenakshi Sundaram District Chairman - Eye Camps. The award was given in recognition of his outstanding performance in organising camps in collaboration with various Lions Clubs in the district during 2009-10.

  Dr. V. Siddhartan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association, TMS Eye Hospital, Salem delivered a guest lecture on Criticism Management.

  The RAIEB conducted eye donation awareness programmes at Apollo Hospitals and Madurai Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) on June 17 and 19 respectively. The ward coordinators, paramedical staff and nursing supervisors participated in the programme and pamphlets and posters were handed over to them.
At the programme, Ms. Hepsiba Jawahar, Eye Bank Manager, RAIEB gave an awareness lecture on the importance of eye donation.
Eye donation awareness programme was organised at the Panchayat Union Office, Madurai East on July 6 .Ms. Hebsiba Jawahar addressed the gathering consisting of Village councillors, and panchayat employees. Around 40 members attended the progarmme.
At another awareness programme held at Railway Hospital, Madurai on July 7, Dr. Kasthuri Jeyaraj, Chief Medical Superintendent, Dr. Yasodha, Railway Hospital -  in–Charge, S.J. Baskar, Chief Ophthalmologist, ward in charges, and paramedical staff participated.

  Medical Officers and Senior Fellows of Retina clinic, Aravind - Pondicherry delivered guest lectures at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Pankaja Dhoble, Consultant
- Risk factors, pathogenesis, classification and clinical features of diabetic retinopathy
- Diabetic screening - Role of physician

Dr. Manavi D Sindal, Medical Officer
- Recent advances in management of Diabetic Retinopathy

Dr. Dheeraj Kewlani, Senior Fellow
- Management of Diabetic Retinopathy

An exhibition was conducted at Kallidaikurichi Vision Centre to create awareness among public especially parents and children about the various paediatric eye diseases. Posters, charts and models explaining paediatric eye problems were diplayed. Vegetables and nuts that are good for eye health were also discussed and displayed during the exhibition. Around 150 persons visited the exhibition.

A training programme on basic eye screening was conducted for school teachers in which 50 teachers from private and government schools of Villupuram, Thiruvanamalai districts participated. Thirteen schools with a total strength of 16400 from Villupuram district and eight schools with strength of 15250 from Thiruvanamalai district were covered under this programme.
Dr. R.D. Ravindran, CMO welcomed the gathering and briefed on the genesis of Aravind Eye Care system. Dr. Dhivya, Senior Resident spoke about the anatomy of eye and common eye diseases and Dr.Veena, Chief - Paediatric ophthalmology spoke on common eye disorders in children and importance of nutrition in eye care for children. Ms.Malathi and Ms.Devi, Refractionists demonstrated visual acuity measurement procedure.

  Dr. R. Venkatesh, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry attended the Glaucoma Forum monthly Meeting and delivered a lecture on Laser Assisted Deep Sclerectomy.

  Grand rounds of the last week was indeed a different and a special one wherein Aravind achievers in the international fora were felicitated. They included Dr. Haripriya Aravind, Dr. R. Venkatesh (winners of ASCRS Film Festival) and Dr. N. Vidhya (Merit Certificate in ICO Clinical exams). Dr.Haripriya and Dr. Venkatesh presented their award winning videos and shared their experiences during the making and presentation of the videos.

  Dr. S. Aravind, Administrator, Aravind – Madurai shared his experiences with Dr. C. K. Prahalad at his memorial service organised by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) at IIT, Chennai. Video

Glaucoma clinic - Aravind, Tirunelveli purchased a new equipment, Anterior segment OCT which was inaugurated on July 5 by Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, CMO. Doctors, MLOPs and Admin staff attended the function.

There were 8 participants (India - 6, Nepal - 2) for the course. Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, Dr.K. Ilango, Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj attended the inauguration along with LAICO Faculty.

  As part of the Faculty visit to the Fellows in Eye Hospital Management during their externship posting, Mr. Sanil Joseph visited the Fellows posted in VMA Netra Nirmay Niketan, Chaithanyapur, Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital, Kolkata, Grameen GC Eye Hospital, Bogra, Bangladesh and Islamia Eye Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from  June 21- 26. Mr. Dhinakaran Assistant Administrator, Aravind-Tirunelveli visited Sankar Foundation Eye Hospital, Vaizag on June 22 in this regard. The purpose of the visits was to understand the work the Fellows were doing there, to provide necessary support and guidance and to get the feedback from the organisation.

  Dr. Thiruvenkatakrishnan, Cornea Consultant, Aravind - Pondicherry and Mr. Suresh Kumar, Faculty, LAICO, Madurai visited five county hospitals and two private hospitals at Guanzhou. Dr. Thiruvenkatakrishnan participated in the capacity building workshop at ZOC, Guanzhou and delivered lecture on Sustainable Outreach Programme.

Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj participated in the social gathering arranged by Sightsavers International (SSI) held at Buckingham Palace, London in conection with its 60th anniversary. A number of ambassadors, SSI board of trustees and heads of blindness combating societies over the world attended the event which was graced by the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra, the chief patron of SSI. Ms. Elizabeth Kurien, Country Director – India, SSI also participated in the event.

The workshop was inaugurated by Ln. N.A.K. Gopalakrishna Raja.  Each hospital team made presentation on the existing challenges faced by them and spoke about the goals of their hospital. Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, LAICO delivered the key note address and Mr. Suresh Kumar, LAICO Faculty presented the workshop objectives and overview. Twelve participants from three hospitals in India participated in the workshop.

 

Course title	Training Centre	Total Number Trained as on May 2010	Enrollments for June 2010
Long Term Fellowship Courses-For Ophthalmologists
Fellowship in Anterior Segment/Intraocular Lens Surgery	Madurai	96	1
	Tirunelveli	11	0
	Coimbatore	18	0
	Pondicherry	10	0
Fellowship in Cornea	Madurai	36	1
	Tirunelveli	0	0
	Coimbatore	17	0
	Pondicherry	2	0
Fellowship in Glaucoma	Madurai	24	1
	Tirunelveli	8	0
	Coimbatore	10	0
	Pondicherry	2	0
Short Term Courses - For Ophthalmologists
Diagnosis and Management of Glaucoma	Madurai	110	0
	Tirunelveli	99	3
	Coimbatore	78	2
IOL Microsurgery	Madurai	697	0
	Tirunelveli	267	1
	Coimbatore	203	1
	Pondicherry	8	0
Phacoemulsification	Madurai	115	2
	Tirunelveli	62	1
	Coimbatore	74	0
	Pondicherry	15	0
Small Incision Cataract Surgery	Madurai	140	2
	Tirunelveli	98	3
	Coimbatore	113	2
	Pondicherry	14	0
Lasers in Diabetic Retinopathy	Madurai	233	0
	Coimbatore	220	2
Short Term Training in Vitrectomy (Virtual)	Madurai	1	1
Ocularist	Madurai	13	1
Paediatric Counsellors	Madurai	34	2
Management Courses
Community Outreach and Social Marketing of Eye Care Services	LAICO	227	8

Nearly 60 dealers from all over the country including those who are with the Aurolab from its inception were present. Mr. Sivanand, Marketing Manager- Domestic introduced the dealers to the audience. In his welcome speech, Dr. P. Balakrishnan, Managing Director – Aurolab acknowledged the invaluable services rendered by the dealers in achieving the milestone of crossing the 10 million mark in IOL sales. Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman – Aravind Eye Care System, in his speech exhorted the unfailing support of the dealers in promoting Aurolab products. Mr. G. Srinivasan, President, GOVEL Trust, emphasised that the dealers can play a great role in ensuring customer satisfaction for Aurolab products. Dr. G. Natchiar, Vice Chairman, AECS pointed out that Aurolab is primarily a service – oriented organisation and not a business unit. She commended the services of dealers who act as a bridge between the public and Aurolab.  Professor D.V.R. Seshadri from IIM, Banglore, in his inspiring address, stressed the need for a strong and friendly relationship between manufacturers and dealers citing examples from companies like Tata Steels and The Caterpillar.
Later the team were taken for a visit to Aurolab and then to Kodaikanal.

 

June - 2010
Hospitals	Madurai	Theni	Tirunelveli	Coimbatore	Pondicherry	Total
HOSPITAL OUT-PATIENT VISITS
Paying (New & Review)	44,720	6,812	22,148	25,220	18,809	117,709
Free (Direct walk-in)	14,966	2,187	5,943	8,588	5,607	37,291
OUTREACH OUT PATIENTS
Regular Eye Camps	6,794	1,415	4,304	3,198	5,772	21,483
Diabetic Retinopathy camps	385	212	297	785	-	1,679
Refraction Camps	1,143	336	-	179	-	1,658
School Screening	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paediatric Camps	114	-	-	-	124	238
Vision Centres	5,508	3,704	3,169	1,976	1,674	16,031
Community Eye Clinics	3,441	1,457	3,853	2,858	-	11,609
Total OP Examinations	77,071	16,123	39,714	42,804	31,986	207,698
SURGERIES
Paying	3,047	400	1,175	1,393	1,883	7,898
Free (including the subsidized camp surgeries)	3,460	271	869	1,544	2,375	8,519
Camp	2,215	212	1,055	1,000	1,499	5,981
Total Surgeries	8,722	883	3,099	3,937	5,757	22,398

A woman in her fiftees, who had already lost vision  in her right eye came to Aravind- Pondicherry recently with diminishing vision caused by cataract in the left eye. Her apprehension of losing vision in the second eye too was dispelled by the specialist doctor  who told her that he would do his best to restore her vision by I.O.L. surgery. The  doctor's words gave the patient a new hope. And operation was successful.
Rojamani (real name shielded) was injured on her right eye by a flower plant stem when she tried to pluck flowers at the age of 13. The eye became reddish and tearing started. A local eye doctor gave some medicines which solved the problem. However, in due course, she lost vision in the affected eye. As a result Rojamani had to discontinue her school studies and got married at the age  of 19. After sometime, her husband committed suicide due to a family dispute. With no one to support, she brought up her 3 month old baby with the help of her parents and sisters.
From the year 1967 to 2010, Rojamani used to visit 3 or 4 eye camps every year with the hope of regaining vision in the right eye. However, all the eye doctors who examined her eye informed that she  had developed cataract and even if  it is removed, there is no guarantee of regaining vision.
Recently, with the advice of her Chennai based sister, Rojamani came to Aravind-Pondicherry where she was examined. Here also she was informed that the chances of restoring sight are very dim even after surgery. However, surgery may be tried after six months when she may regain vision. Since the possibility of getting sight was remote, Rojamani did not return to Aravind after 6 month. But, as  her vision in the left eye began to diminish during the past 5 months, fear of losing sight in that eye too gripped the patient and she rushed back to Aravind- Pondicherry.
The specialist doctor of the hospital thoroughly examined her and informed that he will try his best to restore vision by an IOL surgery. His words gave her a new hope. The doctor successfully performed the operation.
When the bandage was removed, Rojamani could see everything clearly. With brimming joy, she informed the good news to  her aged father and other relatives over phone. "When I had lost all hopes, Aravind gave me a new hope and today I have regained my sight thanks to the efforts of the doctor"- said Rojamani gratefully.
Source: Ms. Dhanabhagyam and Ms. Varalakshmi           
Script: K.V.S. Lakshmanan