OCULOPLASTIC surgery, which is plastic surgery around the eyes and the face, goes beyond merely being a cosmetic procedure. In fact, some 13 patients of the Ophthalmology Department at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) might be testament to this, after they benefitted last week from the expertise of a group of doctors who visited the island from the United States, as part of the Latter-day Saints (LDS) Charities mission.

The group arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday night and was slated to perform 14 oculoplastic surgeries before leaving the island yesterday. When the Jamaica Observer spoke to the lead oculoplastic surgeon for the mission, Dr Todd Engen, last Wednesday, he explained that one of the patients selected for surgery was no longer suitable because her blood pressure was too high. However, the plan was to proceed with the other 13 patients who, according to Dr Engen, were all good candidates for surgery.

Dr Engen told Your Health Your Wealth that, from the trip, his hope was to correct the underlying issues affecting the patients as well as to expose Jamaican doctors and residents to a few procedures, techniques and equipment that would allow them to perform safer and more effective surgeries.

“We have eyelid issues, where either their lids are so heavy they can’t see out, we are going to raise them up,” Dr Engen said of the selected patients. “We have eyelids that are pulled away from the eye, they are exposing the eye — the cornea — the surface of the eye is exposed and is breaking down.

“We have some where the eyelids are turning in, both on the lower and upper lids where they are being abraded by their eyelashes and there is some scarring on the cornea,” he continued. “We have some tear duct problems from chronic infections, and we have some people who have lost their eye and they are running into some problems with the socket, they cannot retain their artificial eye that they have in there.”

So, while oculoplastic surgery involves a lot of aesthetic work, it also includes reconstructive work that is a necessity for many.

The Ophthalmology Clinic is the largest clinic at KPH, and according to the institution’s Senior Medical Officer Dr Natalie Whylie, it sees more than 1,000 patients each month.

Head of the department, Dr Albert Lue, told Your Health Your Wealth on Wednesday that the mission’s visit was the culmination of a meeting held some nine months prior.

Based on the established need, the LDS Charities decided to have the mission to Jamaica.

Both Dr Engen and Dr Lue said there is a need for oculoplastic surgeries on the island. Dr Lue said, though, that oculoplastic surgeries are already being performed at KPH, but that it is always good to get confirmation that what is being practised is correct, and also that it is a welcomed opportunity to learn new and improved techniques.

Meanwhile, Dr Engen explained that with any surgery there are risks, the most common being bleeding and possible infections. The biggest risk, he pointed out, was having a complication that would affect vision permanently.

However, he insisted that for the selected patients the benefits outweighed the potential risks.

But what can people do to ensure that they never need oculoplastic surgery?

Although Dr Engen was unable to pinpoint a specific preventative measure, since the risk is mostly based on genetics, age and different situations that are likely to include trauma, he advised that early detection is the key to minimising permanent damage to the eye.

The humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also donated ophthalmology equipment valued at US$43,000 to the department. Both Dr Lue and board chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority Dr Andrei Cooke expressed their appreciation to the visiting doctors and the Church of Latter Day Saints.