Ophthalmology & Anesthesiology | International Sight Saving Mission Medical Team from PKUPH Provides Medical Assistance in Uzbekistan
“人民”健康快车国际光明行医疗队第三次奔赴乌兹别克斯坦之行完美收官
2024-10-25
On October 2, 2024, a medical team from Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) embarked on their third medical assistance mission to Uzbekistan as part of the Lifeline Express Belt & Road International Sight Saving Mission. Before departure, President Wang Jun urged the team to prepare thoroughly and ensure the highest standards of medical quality and safety. He also expressed gratitude for the team members’ selfless dedication as they had given up spending National Day, one of the biggest festivals in China, with their families to undertake this important mission.
On top of cataract surgeries, this medical collaboration expanded to include treatments for glaucoma, ocular fundus diseases, and other ophthalmological problems. Given the broader scope of this mission, PKUPH assembled a group of highly skilled medical staff from the Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Anesthesiology with rich experience in international medical assistance. The team was led by Professor Bao Yongzhen, a renowned ophthalmologist who has spearheaded numerous medical missions to Africa and Central Asia since 2013. Other members included Liang Jianhong, Yuan Li, Wu Huijuan, Linghu Dandan, Liu Jia, Yang Wenxue, Zhang Jian, and Gao Wenjie.
After a 4,363-kilometer flight, the medical team arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The nine-member team formally started their 12-day mission.
On October 3, the team visited the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Eye Microsurgery (RSSPMCEM) for an academic exchange. The Director Yusupov Azamat Farhadovich of RSSPMCEM warmly welcomed them and praised the China-Uzbekistan Cooperation Center for Blindness Prevention, established in 2023, providing a good platform for young ophthalmologists to strengthen cataract surgery skills and facilitate exchanges. He expressed optimism for deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of ophthalmology. Professor Bao Yongzhen echoed this expectation, expressing the same view of the bright future for the cooperation center and collaborative exchanges between the two countries. After the academic exchange, the team immediately started clinical work, providing consultations and preparing for surgery.
On October 4, the team members attended the International Ophthalmological Congress (IOC) Uzbekistan 2024 in Tashkent as China’s representatives. This was the first time Chinese scholars had participated in this event. Professor Bao Yongzhen, as a member of the presidium and a guest speaker, delivered a keynote speech on "Infantile Cataract Surgery and Long-Term Effects." During the Symposium of Ophthalmologists of the People’s Republic of China (The project of “One Belt, One Road”) on October 5, Professor Liang Jianhong presented on "Treatment of Uveal Tumors" and "LaserAnti-VEGF” therapy for retinopathy of prematurity, while Professor Wu Huijuan discussed " New Explorations on the Pathogenesis of Primary Angle-Closure Disease and Their Clinical Application Value" and Professor Yuan Li spoke on "Refractive Cataract Surgery".
After IOC, the team took a six-hour train journey to the ancient city of Bukhara on the same day. Without delay, they began performing cataract surgeries for local patients. The team brought a video system this year to enable more local doctors to observe the surgeries in real time. One local doctor said enthusiastically, “The video system is amazing. It feels like we’re just beside the surgical tables, giving us more opportunities to learn!”
On October 12, the team completed all surgeries planned. “Dear ophthalmologists from Peking University People's Hospital, on behalf of RSSPMCEM’s Bukhara branch and the people of Bukhara, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your selfless support for our people and for providing valuable theoretical and practical training to our young doctors. We believe the collaboration between ophthalmologists in China and Uzbekistan will continue to grow and deepen. You are always welcome in sunny Uzbekistan,” quoted from the President of Bukhara’s Ophthalmological Hospital.
In September 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that China would carry out 2,000 free cataract operations for SCO member states over the next three years. To fulfill this promise, China's International Health Exchange and Cooperation Center of the National Health Commission organized medical teams to provide medical assistance in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. As a keen player in this initiative, PKUPH has sent expert teams to Uzbekistan in November 2019 and April 2023, and to Kyrgyzstan in September 2023.
In this Uzbekistan mission, the PKUPH medical team completed 209 cataract operations in six intensive days. This brings the total number of surgeries performed by the Lifeline Express Belt & Road International Sight Saving Mission Medical Teams to over 2,000, marking a successful conclusion of the mission!
