Yevgeniya Ilyina – SOE Grant Placement – Moorfields Eye Hospital

 

Thank you very much the SOE Educational Committee and Professor Marko Hawlina for this opportunity. 

I choose Moorfields Eye Hospital and applied for the cataract service for one month.  It’s a huge clinic and they are too busy, however Alia Hashmi was so kind to confirm my observership programme at cataract service from 2nd to 27th November 2015. So, I was there within one month in November and it was awesome.

There are a lot of different services at Moorfields Eye Hospital. On the first my day I received the schedule and then followed it. I was attached to cataract team with the main specialist Mr. Maurino. He was very polite and explained everything to me.  According to the timetable I had the cataract clinic two times a week. I watched the patients to talk to them and observed the protocols of clinical examinations with cases with a complicated cataract, such as traumatic and diabetic. I watched a lot of patients with the congenital cataract and finally clearly understood the difference between the types. Also I attended the surgical theatre three days a week not only at Moorfields Eye Hospital but also at the St. Ann`s Hospital where there is also a cataract service. Every day from 6 pm I had the opportunity to observe the private clinic and the private surgery as the Femtosecond laser at the Moorfields clinic too.

My aim was the cataract service. Despite this it was allowed me to visit other departments such as adnexa or Neuro-ophthalmology or glaucoma.  From time to time I watched their surgery too. At the theatre I had the opportunity to look at glaucoma surgery including trabeculectomy with Mitomycin and Ahmed valve insertion, phacoemulsification of cataract with toric lens insertion and the femtosecond laser cataract surgery. I saw different types of keratoplasty such as DALK, DMEK, penetrating keratoplasty too.

Also I was happy to be present on the lectures our tutors read us every Tuesday and Wednesday morning. There were a lot of modern information about recent research conclusions, findings and directions not only in cataract treatment but in the cornea and glaucoma treatment too. All speakers were highly skilled professionals and the perfect surgeons.

There was the library in the hospital. I read new books (some were produced in 2015) about phacoemulsification and the atlases of the cataract surgery. These books are the best books in ophthalmology I have ever read. I used the local (library) internet connection and could read the newest articles.

The staff at the clinic was friendly, they always answered all my questions. They made my observership very pleasant. And the consultants made my stay at the department very fruitful. So I have spent a great time there and have been obtained profound knowledge.

Finally I have met a lot of friends the observers from Poland, Turkey, Bosnia, Portugal and the UK there. We could discuss some cases, medication and surgery to exchange the experience and to improve our skills. So my staying there definitely was not boring.

On my last day I received the certificate of attendance absolutely ensure this experience will be useful for me in Ukraine.   When I returned home I made a presentation for my colleagues and told them about modern surgery technics, medication, research directions and about all I saw in Moorfields.

Many thanks for this great opportunity.

Respectfully yours Yevgeniya Ilyina.