Surgical Eye Expeditions International

Surgical Eye Expeditions International (SEE International)
Founded August 26, 1974
Focus Vision Care
Location
Area served
 International and Local
Slogan 'Restoring sight and transforming lives worldwide since 1974'
Website http://www.seeintl.org

Surgical Eye Expeditions International (SEE International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization based in Santa Barbara, California. Founded in 1974, SEE International connects volunteer ophthalmologists to host clinic sites worldwide to provide sight-restoring surgeries in communities that are overwhelmed with the large number of blind individuals who cannot afford surgery. The organization is headed by President/CEO Randal Avolio, along with a 16-member Board of Directors. In the United States, it is classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.[1]

Mission statement

To provide medical, surgical and educational services by volunteer ophthalmic surgeons with the primary objective of restoring eyesight to disadvantaged blind individuals worldwide.

History

Harry Brown, M.D., F.A.C.S. founded SEE International in 1974. The inspiration for SEE was found in response to the overwhelming number of people worldwide living with surgically curable blindness, the majority of which is caused by cataracts.[2]

During his fellowship in the early 1970s Dr. Brown worked with eye surgeons in Africa and Asia. Excited by the experience of healing people who traveled great distances for sight-restoring surgery, he first realized the need for a permanent vehicle to link volunteer professionals with disadvantaged blind persons throughout the developing world. Dr. Brown’s vision was realized in the founding of Surgical Eye Expeditions International, Inc. on August 26, 1974 with the help of Mr. William Crockett. Mr. Crockett was instrumental in the early years of SEE, serving as administrator for the first six years.

In the late 1980s the Santa Barbara Vision Care Program was created to reach low income and uninsured individuals in the Santa Barbara Community. Every year 300-600 vision screenings are conducted and 5 - 12 surgeries are facilitated for those in the local community who have no other means of obtaining such services.[3]

Programs

International

SEE Patients in Ajalli, Nigeria. September 2007.

With a global network of more than 600 volunteer eye surgeons who donate their services (and provide for their own travel and related expenses), SEE International coordinates short-term medical expeditions all over the world at the request of ophthalmologists in host countries whose communities are overwhelmed with the large number of blind individuals who cannot afford surgery. SEE International’s volunteer ophthalmologists work closely with the host eye surgeons to perform safe and quality sight-restoring surgeries.

In 2013 alone, SEE International performed over 11,000 surgeries in 36 countries around the world. Over the course of 40 years SEE has screened approximately 3.2 million individuals, and completed over 400,000 surgeries in over 80 different countries.[4]

SEE expeditions are typically one week long. All teams are invited by the Ministry of Health or a local health authority from the host country. SEE’s international clinic coordinators work with the host ophthalmologists three to six months in advance to coordinate logistical details and to ensure the availability of proper facility, equipment, supplies, support and staff.

The Need for Cataract Surgery

SEE International’s primary focus of cataract surgery is one of the most cost-effective of all health interventions. Cataracts cause more than 48% of the world’s loss of sight and are surgically correctable.[5] Except for the most developed countries, cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in all regions of the world.[6] With a 30-minute surgery and the patient under local anesthetic, a volunteer SEE surgeon can restore the sight of a person who has been blind with cataracts for 5, 10 or even 20 years.[7]

Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (M/SICS)

Cataract surgeries in developing countries require a technique that is not normally practiced in the United States. Because of the density of the cataracts and the lack of infrastructure for sophisticated equipment, a manual process must be utilized in many developing countries. The extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) manual method is typically used, but involves a relatively large (usually 10–12 mm) incision made in the cornea which requires sutures. With the newer M/SICS procedure, a much smaller (5 mm) incision is made that is also self-sealing. Skilled surgeons can perform twice as many surgeries in the same amount of time with the M/SICS procedure compared to ECCE.[8] In addition, patients typically have better post-op visual acuity, less astigmatism, fewer incidences of infection and heal faster through this process.

As part of SEE International’s ongoing commitment to patient care and affiliate ophthalmologists, and because of all the benefits of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery, SEE International has begun to train ophthalmologists in the technique through a one-day course held one to two times a year at the SEE offices in Santa Barbara.

Local

SEE International formed the Santa Barbara Vision Care Program in response to the population within SEE’s own local community that could not afford vision care. The purpose of the Santa Barbara Vision Care Program is to save eyesight in patients through early detection and to provide sight-restoring surgery to those in need. In 2013, SBVCP provided services for 1,424 low-income and uninsured patients in Santa Barbara County. 2013 also marked the third year of providing Diabetic Retinopathy screenings for SBVCP patients.[9]

Awards and recognition

SEE has been awarded the Independent Charities of America (ICA) Seal of Excellence. The award is presented to nonprofit organizations that, upon independent review, have demonstrated the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

In the December 10, 2001 issue of Forbes, SEE International was cited in the Charity Investment Guide for its 99% efficiency as a charity, meaning that financially almost nothing is lost to overhead.[10]

Logo

SEE International’s logo is based on the design of the rod of Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing. Situated atop the staff is the symbol of an eye with the ideogram of the planet earth inside it, reflecting SEE International’s mission to provide sight-restoring surgeries worldwide.

Board of directors

References

  1. ↑ About SEE International
  2. ↑ SEE's Motivation
  3. ↑ Santa Barbara Vision Care Program
  4. ↑ SEE's International Programs
  5. ↑ Cataract Facts
  6. ↑ World Health Organization's 10 Facts about Blindness and Visual Impairment
  7. ↑ World Health Organization Blindness Facts
  8. ↑ Surgery Encyclopedia- Definition of extrascapular cataract extraction
  9. ↑ 2012 Annual Report
  10. ↑ "Clarity Of Vision"
  11. ↑ "SEE International :: Board of Directors". SEE International. Retrieved 2013-12-05.

External links