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The Makassar-Dundee VISION 2020 LINK: a tale of two cities and two trainees

A resident’s view from Makassar My name is Hendra Kusuma, a final year resident (registrar) in the ophthalmology department at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Indonesia. We have had a VISION 2020 LINK with Dundee (coordinated at the UK end by...

A career in uveitis

As he retires from clinical practice, the author looks back on his long career in uveitis and how care of these patients has changed dramatically since his days as an undergraduate. My trainees and fellows are often bored by my...

COVID-19: Pete’s Bogus Journey

The author shares his personal experience of contracting coronavirus. I managed to body swerve COVID-19 for nine months. The Pfizer vaccine was being rolled out in my trust. I had my first inoculation booked in three weeks. I had survived...

Modern practice options for UK ophthalmologists

When I spoke on setting up private practice at the annual United Kingdom & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (UKISCRS) meeting in November ’23 there was a lot of interest in different types of practice models. If we...

Students, soccer and slit-lamps in Ethiopia: a VISION 2020 LINK

Wachemo University campus. The Ethiopian Government is well aware of the brain drain amongst health workers and, to compensate, is training huge numbers of medical students, nurses and health officers in universities like Wachemo, a massive new University near Hosanna...

How to get the most out of your ophthalmology elective

If you are in your penultimate year (or even earlier) and have already decided that you want to do ophthalmology, good for you! Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive specialties, and one of the easiest ways to demonstrate your...

Paediatric ophthalmology training in Malawi through the Vision 2020 LINKS Programme: a decade of partnership

Blinding eye disease in children can lead to a lifetime of dependence and non-productivity for the person afflicted. Sometimes a relatively simple condition such as a refractive error can lead to irreversible disability that could, if caught in time, have...

Part 3: The Arclight Project: Implementation workshops

In this three-part series (Click here for Part 1 and Part 2) Andrew Blaikie and his team explore the role and application of the Arclight Device in Imaging of the Eye. The Arclight Project aims to support and enhance the...

The role of injection assistant devices in establishing a nurse-led AMD service

The author shares his experience of setting up a nurse-led service to deliver anti-VEGF intravitreal injections and how injection assistant devices supported training. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has become a leading cause of irreversible blindness [1]. It is estimated that...

PACK-crosslinking for infectious keratitis

Corneal cross-linking with riboflavin and UV-A light (CXL) is a technology that has been initially developed to treat corneal ectatic disorders [1]. Its effect in stabilising diseases such as keratoconus was reported in numerous trials with excellent long-term outcomes and...

Congenital and paediatric cataract: Advances in diagnosis and management

Congenital and paediatric cataracts are relatively rare, although prevalence varies significantly between countries, influenced by factors such as nutrition, immunisation policy and population genetics [1]. In the UK, around 3–4 of every 10,000 babies are born with cataracts. It’s a...

Dr William Mackenzie: a founding figure of modern ophthalmology

The author looks at the career of William Mackenzie and the important role he played in establishing the status of ophthalmology as a recognised medical speciality. There are certain individuals who, blessed with ability and means, are destined to leave...