To fulfill this important commitment by President Xi, on May 30, 2024, a medical team composed of seven team members from the Department of Ophthalmology and operating rooms of PUMCH, as designated by the International Health Exchange and Cooperation Center, National Health Commission of China traveled to Tajikistan on a “Brightness Journey of Lifeline Express”. They are tasked with providing free cataract surgeries for local patients, also laying the foundation for establishing a China-Tajikistan blindness prevention cooperation center down the road, strengthening bilateral cooperation in technical exchange, talent training, and medical services. This will be the PUMCH contribution to the improvement of eye health in Tajikistan and even the entire Central Asia.

In the early hours of May 31, the medical team arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and immediately set about making preparations. At 10 a.m., the team met with the personnel in charge from the Tajikistan central eye hospital to keep abreast of preparations of the patients scheduled for the surgery. To better communicate with patients during examinations, the team, with great assistance from the teachers and students from the local Confucius Institute, prepared pre-recorded Tajik instructions in their recording devices. The team also conducted a consultation for a young boy suffering from pan-uveitis.

▲The medical team was busy setting up the examination and operating room

On the morning of June 1, the first batch of cataract surgery patients were admitted for preoperative examinations and preparations. Upon examination, the team found that about 70% of the patients had pseudoexfoliation syndrome, which often leads to changes in ocular structure, making the treatment process more challenging. Approximately 30% of the patients had intumescent cataracts characterized by opacification of the crystalline lens with swelling of the lens material, leading to progressive vision loss. Thus personalized treatment plans need to be made based on a patients’ age, physical condition, and severity of the disease. On the first day, the team successfully completed 11 complex cataract surgeries, which were revealed to be successful by postoperative examinations the next day. Local doctors observed the surgeries performed by the medical team.

Since 2014, the Department of Ophthalmology, PUMCH has completed six major foreign-aid medical missions. In May of this year, the PUMCH ophthalmology team not only embarked on this international Brightness Journey of Lifeline Express, but also got on the Sinopec Lifeline Express train which stopped in Zhumadian Station in Henan Province, where they are expected to provide free cataract surgeries for over a thousand patients.

“Our technological prowess has been highly praised by local doctors, and patients are very satisfied with the surgical outcomes”, said a team member.

Written by Li Donghui

Pictures courtesy of the Department of Ophthalmology

Edited by Wang Jingxia