KHUJAND, April 28, 2009, Asia-Plus — Ophthalmologists in the Sughd province have brought the successfulness of operations for glaucoma to 90 percent, the deputy head physician of the Sughd Regional Center for Eye Microsurgery, Rahmatjon Abdulloyev, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, the center performs some 200 operations for glaucoma per year and some 90 percent of the operations are successful. “The center is currently making shift to self financing and now, such an operation will cost 300 somoni,” Abdulloyev said.
He further added that the number people suffering from various eye diseases was increasing in the province from year to year. “In 2006, 3,507 local residents were hospitalized for different eye diseases, while in 2008, the number of such patients increased to 3,211 and the majority of them were hospitalized to undergo treatment for glaucoma,” Abdulloyev said.
Glaucoma is part of a group of diseases of the optic nerve involving loss of retinal ganglion cells in a characteristic pattern of optic neuropathy. Raised intraocular pressure is a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma (above 22mmHg). One person may develop nerve damage at a relatively low pressure, while another person may have high eye pressure for years and yet never develop damage. Untreated glaucoma leads to permanent damage of the optic nerve and resultant visual field loss, which can progress to blindness.
