Chelsea Surgical Partners Founding Consultant Mr. Marcus Posner took part in a Charity Trip to Samanala Valley Hospital, Norton Bridge, Sri Lanka in January 2025.
Ophthalmologist and Ophthalmic Surgeon Marcus Posner was invited as part of a UK-based team to perform cataract surgery and conduct outpatient clinics in Sri Lanka.
The Samanala Valley Hospital is nestled amidst the breathtaking highlands of Sri Lanka in the shadow of Adam’s Peak, a pilgrimage site believed by many to be the cradle of humanity.
The hospital is run by George Patrick, an incredible individual who self-funds the hospital and arranges charitable ocular surgery for the underprivileged, mainly Tamil, local population. He is supported by an exceptional team of dedicated individuals and together they are responsible for the complete functioning of the hospital.
The trip was a busy one, with more than 100 patients waiting to be seen at 7:30am on the first day. Performing cataract surgery was particularly challenging, with priority being given to patients who had such poor vision that they could only see little more than light and shadow.
Mr Posner and team were determined to provide top-level care to as many patients as possible and adapted to numerous challenges throughout the course of the week. Ingenious solutions were found when needed, for example the rigging to the surgical microscope of a fibre-optic cable to provide further intra-operative illumination.
Witnessing people seeing their family members – some for the first time – post operation provided Marcus and his team with some very emotional moments and the optometrists also worked tirelessly across the trip to examine patients and hand out scores of donated spectacles, from simple readers to highly myopic corrections for adults who had never seen clearly in the past.
Across a week of long and exhausting days Marcus and the team managed over 650 patients in clinics and restored vision to over 50 patients. The trip was a great success, and plans are being put in place for a return.
Many congratulations to Marcus from the whole team at CSP for this brilliant initiative.
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