Local Doctor Travels to Philippines, Donates Cataract Surgery Services to Hundreds

Share this: Dr. Mark Kennedy has recently returned from a mission trip to the Philippines with other local doctors.
By: Tomoka Eye Associates
 
 
Dr. Kennedy and a cataract patient in the Philippines.
Dr. Kennedy and a cataract patient in the Philippines.
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Dec. 10, 2018 - PRLog -- Tomoka Eye Associates is pleased to announce practice partner Dr. Mark Kennedy has returned from a five-day mission trip last month in the Philippines after successfully performing 420 cataract surgeries with fellow surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Levenson. Dr. Kennedy is a Board Certified Cataract Surgeon and Comprehensive Ophthalmology Glaucoma Specialist, and Dr. Levenson lives in Jacksonville and is the Medical Director for SEE International (a nonprofit coordinating sight restoring programs worldwide).

"I wanted to help people that didn't have access to healthcare," said Dr. Kennedy. "Colleague Dr. Alfonso from Palm Coast has been asking me to go with him for a while…I'm so glad I did and I look forward to continuing to help in the future," Dr. Kennedy added. "It was very rewarding – it makes you grateful for all we have here." he said.

The Philippine Medical Society of Northeast Florida, Inc. (PMSNEF) partnered with SEE International to make the mission trip possible. The group coordinated volunteer doctors with donated supplies (lenses, cataract surgery equipment, etc.). They then partnered with Operation Smile (an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other dental and facial conditions).

"The vision screenings were challenging in many cases because the patients did not knew how to read and were not able to read the eye chart," said Dr. Kennedy. The team worked from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. over the course of the trip. "Nothing was sterile, there was no anesthesia, just topical anesthesia," he added. There were a total of five eye surgeons, Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Levenson from the U.S., and three surgeons from the Philippines.

Some patients heard about the surgeries and came directly to the hospital, while others were referred by family members or family doctors. Many arrived on cattle carts and stayed overnight in the hospital parking lot, as they could not afford other accommodations. Dr. Kennedy said the hospital was a small regional facility with rudimentary equipment. They had to do surgeries the way they did 25 years ago, taking the cataract out whole. It took three-times as long to do a cataract surgery this way versus how we   performed them here today. "The Philippine doctors were giving us pointers on how they make things work with what little they have," said Dr. Kennedy. Many of the patients were completely blind – the nutritional deficits and increased UV exposure near the equator in a population that basically lives and works outdoors. There were hundreds of people waiting, after they were screened, it was determined that many patients would benefit from surgery on both eyes, however, there weren't enough resources to do both eyes, and the doctors would not be able to get to everyone that was waiting, so they had to choose one eye to have the surgery, then the surgery was performed the same day.

Dr. Kennedy was required to become certified with SEE and the credentialing took several weeks. Dr. Don Alfonso, a general practice doctor from Palm Coast, who is also on the board of the PMSNEF, and Dr. Vincent Verdeflor, a pediatrician in Palm Coast, were part of the 120-volunteer team along with general surgery and oral maxillofacial doctors, primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and optometrists.

Living conditions while they were there were stark – it was 100 degrees with weak or no air conditioning, or just fans. There were communal showers, it was out in middle of provinces at the Cadiz District Hospital in Cadiz, Negros Occidental, Philippines, two hours from Bacolod City.

Dr. Kennedy is a Board Certified Cataract Surgeon and Comprehensive Ophthalmology Glaucoma Specialist with Tomoka Eye Associates practicing in Ormond Beach and Palm Coast, Florida. For more information visit the website at www.Tomokaeye.com or call 386-672-4244.

Pictured: Dr. Kennedy and a patient.

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