Operation Miracle
Advances in Panama with
Cuban Assistance
More than 3,200
Panamanians have
undergone surgery at the
Omar Torrijos Herrera
Ophthalmologic Center
donated by Cuba as part
of the Operation Miracle
free eye-surgery
program, mainly for
low-income Latin
Americans, promoted by
the Caribbean island and
Venezuela.
Dr. Julio Yamel Verdecia,
director of the center
located in the province
of Veraguas, explained
that around 70 people
are operated upon every
day. He said that out of
the 3,200 patients that
have received surgery so
far, 2,000 of them were
operated upon for
pterygium while more
than 1,000 were operated
upon for cataract.
He added that the center
was inaugurated last
March and that the staff
of the clinic is
comprised of 27 Cuban
workers, including six
ophthalmologists, nurses
and specialists as well
as Panamanian experts
who have joined the
initiative.
Verdecia noted that they
receive patients from
different provinces and
that nearly 7,000 people
have been diagnosed.
"Our work has had an
incredible impact
because we are solving
the problem of thousands
of people who do not
have the financial
resources to do it
somewhere else," he
stressed. |
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