Suseela Prabhakaran is an Indian ophthalmologist and chief ophthalmic surgeon at Divya Prabha Eye Hospital in Trivandrum, India. [1] She started her career as a lecturer in ophthalmology in the Department of Medical Education at the state government of Kerala.
She was actively involved with the improvement of healthcare services in Kerala, especially in the field of ophthalmology. Through NGOs like the World Health Organization and Innerwheel, she was able to introduce major advances in eye care. [2]
Prabhakaran was instrumental in upgrading the Government Eye Hospital in Trivandrum to a Regional Institute of Ophthalmology. She was also the Advisor in Ophthalmology to the state government. [3]
She established Divya Prabha Eye Hospital on leaving government service. [4]
Suseela Prabhakaran has been given many awards for her contributions to the ophthalmological field. She received a Carapet Gold medal for securing first rank in the state for the SSLC examination. She was a gold medallist for the final year in her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program at the University of Kerala. The World Health Organization granted Prabhakaran a Fellowship Award in Ophthalmic Microsurgery in 1981. She has also received a Knight of the Blind award from Lions Club International, a Platinum Jubilee Award from the Indian Red Cross Society, and the Sevana Ratna award from Nethaji Smaraka Samithi.
Prabhakaran has written several articles in scientific journals and has been cited in the Indian Science Abstracts. [5] Of the 45 million blind people in the world, 12 million of them live in India. [6] Prabhakaran has been able to improve eye health in Kerala by performing cornea graft surgeries and many other procedures that correct or improve cataracts on patients. She also advocates for eye donation, which has been a major topic of interest for advocates of corneal grafting.
Prabhakaran founded the Divya Prabha Eye Hospital to help improve the quality of vision among people in Kerala. [4] The facility was initially established as a clinic by Dr. N. Prabhakaran, who wanted it to provide the best care for patients at an affordable price. [4] At first, it did not have the resources necessary for surgery, so patients requiring surgery were directed to a nearby hospital. [4]
Dr. N. Prabhakaran died a year after the clinic opened, and Suseela Prabhakaran took over the project. She turned it into a full hospital able to accommodate cataract and glaucoma surgeries, [4] two of the main eye problems in India. [6] The operating theatre includes separate areas designed for septic procedures and a sterile air corridor. [4]
Prabhakaran also continues to treat people who cannot afford surgery.
Ophthalmology is a clinical and surgical specialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. A former term is oculism.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of NEI is "to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research." NEI consists of two major branches for research: an extramural branch that funds studies outside NIH and an intramural branch that funds research on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Most of the NEI budget funds extramural research.
Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye that has developed a cataract, an opaque or cloudy area. The eye's natural lens is usually replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) implant.
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An eye care professional is an individual who provides a service related to the eyes or vision. It is any healthcare worker involved in eye care, from one with a small amount of post-secondary training to practitioners with a doctoral level of education.
Patricia Era Bath was an American ophthalmologist and humanitarian. She became the first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology, and the first woman elected to the honorary staff of the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first African-American to serve as a resident in ophthalmology at New York University. She was also the first African-American woman to serve on staff as a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. A holder of five patents, she founded the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington, D.C.
Govindappa Venkataswamy, popularly known as Dr V., was an Indian ophthalmologist who dedicated his life to eliminate needless blindness. He was the founder and former chairman of Aravind Eye Hospitals. He is best known for developing a high quality, high volume, low-cost service delivery model that has restored sight to millions of people. Since inception, Aravind Eye Care System has seen over 55 million patients, and performed over 6.8 million surgeries. Over 50% of the organisation's patients pay either nothing or highly subsidised rates. Its scale and self-sustainability prompted a 1993 Harvard Business Case Study on the Aravind model.
Divya Prabha Eye Hospital is in Trivandrum, capital of Kerala, India.
The Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, also known as Trivandrum Medical College, is a public medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Founded in 1951, it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and is Kerala's first ever Medical College.
The eye care system in Ghana can be said to be one in its infant or growing stages. Today there are less than 300 eye care professionals taking care of the eye needs of over 23 million Ghanaians.
Ulrich Meyer-Bothling is an ophthalmic surgeon and research scientist. He is founding member and past Clinical Director of the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening service for Surrey.
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Eric John Arnott, MA, FRCS, FRCOphth was a British ophthalmologist and surgeon who specialized in cataracts, a condition which in many parts of the world still remains the principal cause of blindness. He is known for inventing new surgical techniques for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders, and received professional awards for his contributions.
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Vijay Kumar Dada is an Indian ophthalmologist and a consultant at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi. An alumnus and a former chief of the Dr. R. P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he has written several articles on eye diseases such as cataract and glaucoma. Dada, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, was honored by the Government of India, in 2002, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Dr Amar Agarwal M.S., FRCS, F.R.C.Ophth is an Indian ophthalmologist and chairman and managing director of Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital and Eye Research Centre in India, which includes 140+ eye hospitals. He is the recipient of the Best Doctor award of the State government from then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa on 15 August 2014. He is also the past President of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) and Secretary General of the Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society of India (IIRSI).
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Bharti Kashyap Navigating Health Care Reform in Jharkhand From a crusader against blindness to Cervical cancer activist the extraordinary success and figures of cervical cancer eradication campaign, eye donation awareness campaign, diabetic retinopathy screening, “Jyot Se Jyot Jalao” campaign and vision protection campaign being run in Jharkhand over the past three decades by Dr. Bharti Kashyap is a testament to the fact that she has carried out the campaigns with full devotion and dedication and has successfully achieved the set targets. Nari Shakti puruskar Awardee Dr Bharti Kashyap is an Indian ophthalmologist and great family and child welfare social worker in Jharkhand, also known as vision and Janni suraksha Lady. She is honoured with Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2017 by hon'ble president of India and is a five-time recipient of the National IMA Award for the welfare of the underprivileged section of society
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