Project - Help Me See

Help Me See
helpmesee.org

See our updated report on the project completion.

Since 2012 HelpMeSee has created a massive treatment program that provides millions of miracle of sight surgeries in 80 of the world's poorest countries. The heart and soul of the treatment program are the local surgeons in these developing countries. 99% of all of the surgeries sponsored are be performed by local surgeons in local hospitals. By empowering local surgeons to set up their own practices and supporting local hospitals, we are building self-sufficiency in very poor, but very proud communities one surgery at a time. In this way a successful route to sustainability is achieved. By providing financial aid, free training and equipment and even interest-free loans to build clinics and hospitals, local communities learn to solve this problem themselves.

The intraocular lens (IOL) is the lens implanted in the eye to treat cataracts. It serves as a replacement for the cloudy crystalline lens – the cataract – that is being removed. It takes over the light focusing function of the eye. The first IOL was implanted in 1949 though was not widely accepted in cataract surgery until the 1970s. Various materials have been used to manufacture IOL implants but during WWII, British ophthalmologist, Sir Harold Ridley, noticed that pilots sustaining eye injuries involving Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) windshield material did not show signs of rejection to the foreign body. It was this discovery that led to his design and implementation of the first IOL.

Because of a focus on high quality surgeries and a strong commitment to patient safety, HelpMeSee is in the process of procuring pre-sterilized, single-use surgical kits to address the needs of participating partners. These kits will contain PMMA One Piece Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lenses. These special lenses are known to reduce the incidence of posterior capsular opacification – the most common side effect of modern cataract surgery. The price point for these lenses is approximately $2.25 per kit. This grant is used to buy 2,667 intraocular lenses to be used in these life changing surgeries.