SEE International Trains Surgeons in Sight-Restoring Technique

This past week, 19 surgeons – representing four countries, nine U.S. States, and from as far away as Australia – attended Surgical Eye Expedition (SEE) International’s intensive instructional course and lab to learn Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) in Santa Barbara. MSICS is considered to be an optimal method to treat the acute cataract cases in the humanitarian medical expedition setting, in developing countries that cannot support the use, transportation and maintenance of sophisticated, expensive equipment.

Since being founded in Santa Barbara in 1974, humanitarian medical nonprofit Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International has completed more than 400,000 sight-restoring surgeries worldwide, with a record 15,463 surgeries performed in 2010.

“It is wonderful to see these board certified eye surgeons taking the time to improve their skills, learning a procedure that can be used in areas where access to modern surgical technology is not available,” said John Crowder, MD, SEE International’s Medical Director and founding board member. “As a result, they will be able to restore sight to some of the poorest and remote areas of the world. I am impressed with their dedication. I am thankful to our faculty, Dr. Janak Shah and Dr. Jeff Rutgard, who collectively complete more than a thousand sight restoring surgeries every year for those most in need .”

SEE International affiliate surgeons typically restore sight to between 50 and 200 people during each five-day clinic expedition.