Dr. Eugene Liu performs a cataract operation, one of about 15 he does each Wednesday at Southlake’s new Medical Arts Building.
Health
January 29, 2008 04:42 PM
beingwell magazine Winter 2008
By: Michael Power
Dr. Eugene Liu, a surgeon at Southlake Regional Health Centre, peers through a microscope while performing cataract surgery on the patient lying before him.
A monitor behind Dr. Liu in the operating room displays the procedure, which uses ultrasound to break up the cataract while the conscious patient lies still.
Only 15 minutes later, the patient is in the recovery room.
“I see better already,” says the patient, 72-year-old Maria Mirigello of Richmond Hill.
Ms Mirigello’s procedure is one of about 15 Dr. Liu performs Wednesdays at Southlake’s Cataract Centre on the third floor of the hospital’s new Medical Arts Building. This is her second operation, having had a cataract removed from her right eye in October.
Removing the first cataract meant daily tasks such as reading and watching TV became easier, says Ms Mirigello, who wore glasses for a long time.
“Right away, she could see crystal clear,” says Ms Mirigello’s daughter, Anna, who accompanied her mother to the clinic. “The whole process was very easy.”
The Cataract Centre, which opened last September, is a warm, welcoming environment with art adorning the walls of the waiting room and relaxing music playing in the background. The clinic’s patients benefit from the latest in technology right away, with a system that allows them to check-in electronically, saving their time and improving the accuracy of the process.
Compared to cataract surgeries done 20 to 30 years ago, recovery time is much shorter and the patient’s sight is restored quickly, says Dr. Liu.
“Thanks to the ultrasound technology, most people see better the next day, compared to the old days when vision would improve in about six months or so,” says Dr. Liu, who also
lectures at the University of Toronto.
The clinic is designed to handle a high patient volume, which allows staff to specialize, says Dr. Mike Sullivan, physician leader for surgery at the clinic. Also benefiting the clinic’s surgical teams is its location in the Medical Arts Building across the street from the hospital, which allows doctors, nurses and others to remain free of distractions and focus on cataract procedures.
As well, it’s easier to compare service quality to the provincial average, which is already high, Dr. Sullivan says.
“There tends to be a relationship between high volumes and positive outcomes,” he adds. “An important focus for us is to continually monitor our outcomes to ensure that we are always providing the highest quality services.”
The clinic hopes to maximize efficiency and minimize the time patients spend there by mapping out each step of the care plan.
High-volume clinics typically handle about 3,000 cases a year, with Southlake’s clinic expected to treat between 3,000 and 7,000 patients annually, Dr. Sullivan says.
The need for cataract care — along with other areas of health care — is increasing as the baby boom generation ages, he adds. Cataract surgery is one of several procedures the province has targeted for reduced wait times.
Cataracts occur when the natural clear lens inside the eye, located behind the iris, becomes cloudy over time. This lens is important for focusing light on the back of the eye (the retina) so that images appear clear and without distortion. The clouding of this lens during cataract formation distorts vision.
Cataracts are usually a gradual process of normal aging but can occasionally develop rapidly. They are common, affecting roughly 60 per cent of people over the age of 60.
The procedure and regained sight that goes with it offers an improvement in a quality of life many people without cataracts take for granted, Dr. Sullivan says. The ability to perform everyday things such as reading the newspaper or watching television are restored. And with an aging population has come the realization that growing older should go hand-in-hand with staying active.
“This is an important part of being able to facilitate that and it’s an important part of their (seniors’) medical care,” he says.
The clinic may also represent an early step in offering a full range of of eye care services in the future, Dr. Sullivan says. But before a full map of that care can be laid out, the hospital must determine what services patients are travelling to other areas to receive and if those services can be offered locally.
“Our goal is to develop a centre that will provide cataract services, but also state-of-the-art eye care,” he says. “We see this as a first step in providing a full spectrum of eye care for the northern York Region and south Simcoe County.”