Surgical Eye Expedition Trip to Namibia

Dr. Davidorf checks a patient’s vision after her laser vision correction surgery and gives her the universal sign of success to assure her that she is doing well. Other patients are waiting, their own charts in hand, for their turn to be examined. Space and staffing are limited, so it is common to have 15 patients sleeping in one room for a week or more during the perioperative period.

Dr. Jonathan Davidorf escorts his patient from the surgical suite into the recovery area. Because of less sophisticated instrumentation and the need for larger incisions during the cataract procedure, it is necessary for the patients to wear eye patches for 24 hours. In private practice in California, the cataract procedure has been refined to a 10 minute procedure in which the patient normally leaves the outpatient surgery center without the need for an eye patch.

The children at the school for the blind put on a show for the doctors on their last day of the trip. They played their musical instruments and sang songs for the occasion.

Dr. Jonathan Davidorf performs cataract surgery in Southern Africa (Namibia) as part of a volunteer surgical team.

Dr. Davidorf examines a patient before the anesthesia is administered. The patients in the background are waiting their turn to have surgery.

Dr. Jonathan Davidorf performs cataract surgery on a volunteer surgical mission.

The women celebrated their new vision with religious songs and dancing when the patches were removed. The women wear colorful dresses that reflect their bright personalities.