BATTLING BLINDNESS PROJECT

Izote initiated the first eye surgery unit at San Pedro National Hospital in Usulután, El Salvador, enabling the provision of free ophthalmic surgeries focusing on cataracts. Untreated cataracts are a pervasive problem in El Salvador. Few alternatives exist for those who cannot pay for surgery. Most people do not receive treatment and live with debilitating cataracts causing partial or total vision loss.

Our goal was to create a year-round ophthalmic surgery unit that would NOT rely on visiting ophthalmologists from the USA.  Therefore, our first priority was to make a connection with a Salvadoran ophthalmologist living in El Salvador with whom to team up. In 2010 San Pedro National Hospital hired its first ophthalmologist, Dr. Rafael López. But with no equipment or instruments with which to perform ophthalmic surgeries, all Dr. López could offer were basic eye exams and topical treatments.  He grew increasingly frustrated as he diagnosed cataract after cataract that he could not treat.

In late 2011, Izote board members were introduced to Dr. López and our collaboration began. Izote successfully set about raising the funds to move the project forward. We were able to purchase an ophthalmic microscope. The ophthalmic microscope is the cornerstone of eye surgery, enabling the doctor to visualize and operate on the eye. Along with donated and purchased surgical instruments, the microscope was shipped to San Pedro National Hospital and the ophthalmology surgical unit was established.

From the onset there has been a backlog of patients awaiting cataract surgery. We formed volunteer surgical mission teams including board members and other ophthalmologists from the USA. Our teams had the privilege of operating alongside Dr. López during three trips. These collaborations helped to shorten the waiting list and gave us a first-hand opportunity to see the progress and further needs in our surgical unit. 

In the ensuing years, Izote went on to improve the quality of ophthalmology care at the hospital. We sent diagnostic equipment that allowed for more complex eye examinations and Izote enabled San Pedro hospital to add two ophthalmology nurses to assist Dr. López. As a result of the nurses the eye surgeries were more efficient and safer.

In 2015 Izote funded the renovations, and provided the heart monitoring equipment needed, to create an outpatient surgical unit. Establishing this outpatient operating suite was invaluable for ophthalmic surgeries and the hospital as a whole.

Most recently Izote advanced the level of care at our unit with the purchase of a YAG Laser. This essential but costly piece of equipment is present in all ophthalmology practices in the USA, yet there is only one other available in the entire public hospital system of El Salvador. In a procedure that takes only minutes, the YAG permanently corrects the blurred vision that is a common complication of post-cataract surgery. The YAG also provides a vital tool for the treatment of glaucoma and retinal problems. 

To continue and strengthen our ongoing partnership, in December of 2022 we visited our cataract surgery unit at San Pedro Hospital. Visiting doctors joined us from the University of Arizona and the University of Boston.  

Thus far over a thousand patients have had their eyesight restored! With your support we can expand the reach of our sight-restoring project.