Transforming lives with the gift of sight

Dr Lam Nai-man
Consultant (Ophthalmology), Hong Kong Eye Hospital

“Sight is the most valued sense when it comes to contacting with the outside world, so it gives me great pleasure to share with the patients the joy of recovering their sight after removing the gauze postoperatively,” says Dr Lam Nai-man, whose contentment has encouraged him to work at the Hong Kong Eye Hospital (HKEH) for 35 years since it opened.

Dr Lam has expertise in corneal surgery. For patients with severe ocular surface diseases such as chemical injuries, the successful rate of a cornea graft surgery will be relatively low. “Modified Osteo-Odonto Keratoprosthesis is a procedure that uses the patient’s own teeth to support an artificial cornea. It helps prevent the graft rejection and restore the vision of the patients,” Dr Lam explains. “But the procedure is so complex that it is performed in less than five eye centres in the world.” Thus, Dr Lam has contacted foreign experts to arrange for conjoint surgery in Hong Kong for the benefit of near-total vision loss patients. “Despite the fact that it may only help a few patients, it’s a life-changing moment to go from blindness to sight restoration, and it is worth the effort,” he points out.

Outside of the operating theatre, Dr Lam works actively to improve patient services, including streamlining the patient flow, promoting public-private partnerships to reduce waiting times of cataract and glaucoma treatment, and participating in corneal donations campaign. He has also taken part in developing a specialist outpatient queue management system (QMS) which deploys technology to replace manual registration, triage, and announcement, so that patients are well informed of the queuing status. “I believe that there are multiple solutions to every problem, so the most important thing is to have the determination to solve problems,” says Dr Lam.

Dr Lam is committed to imparting his experience to our new generation and delivering knowledge to the doctors in General Out-patient Clinics (GOPCs). “One-third of the cases in HKEH are referred by GOPCs. Some cases are minor, such as suggesting patients with presbyopia wear a new pair of glasses,” he points out. “If we can train the doctors in the GOPCs to perform simple examinations and triage patients, the overall waiting times would be reduced, and the ophthalmologists can focus more on serious cases. One’s abilities are limited, but teaching can multiply their effectiveness.”