Public Forums in May 2007

Please click on the title above to view public forums organised by the various hospitals in the month of May 2007.

TTSH Glaucoma Forum - 28th April 2007

GLAUCOMA PUBLIC FORUMS - MONTH OF APRIL 2007

GLAUCOMA FORUM @ ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL
Date: 21 April 2007
Time: 10.00 to 12.00noon
Venue : Alexandra Hospital Auditorium
For registration and enquiries, please contact
Ms Alice How at 63793741 or email : Alice_How@alexhosp.com.sg

Glaucoma Public Forum @ Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Date: 28 April 2007
Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
Registration Fee: $5
For registration or enquiries, please contact
Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736
or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg

Public Forums in March 2007

12th Mar 2007 : Latest from Tan Tock Seng Hospital - LASIK PUBLIC FORUM ... please call 6357 8266 for Registration and it is FREE!!!

Hi Sam,

Thanks for diseminating the info to your group. We have decided to make out LASIK public forum free. Also, the number to call for registration will be 6357 8266. FYI. Thanks! :)Regards,

Eugene Kwek, Executive, Ophthalmology Department DID: 6357 7736

--ooOOoo--

11th March 2007

Dear Friends,

This month, March 2007, there are 2 Public Forums organized by the Hospitals, each will be held at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Alexandra Hospital. It looks like it is possible, with some time management, to attend the morning session at AH, take a leisurely lunch and go to TTSH in the afternoon for the next session. Those who are interested to attend may contact the respective organizing personnels:-

TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL

LASIK Public Forum

Date: 17 March 2007

Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm

Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1

Registration Fee: $5

For registration or enquiries,

please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg

ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL

Eye Bags & Sags

Ever wonder what causes eye bags, sagging upper eyelids or sagging eyebrows? Ever dream of removing them to see clearer and look more youthful?

Date: 17 March 2007 Time:

10 am - 11am (English Session) 11 am to 12 noon (Mandarin Session)

Venue: Auditorium For registration or enquiries,

please contact Ms Alice How at 6379 3741 or email: Alice_How@alexhosp.com.sg

Yours truly,

Sam Fong

Pro-Tem Committee

AMD Support Group

http://www.amd-singapore.org

Public Forums at Tan Tock Seng Hospital relating to the Eye

• 1. LASIK Public Forum
  Date: 17 March 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  2. Glaucoma Public Forum
  Date: 28 April 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  3. Public Forum: Warning signs for diabetes complications in eye and foot problems
  Date: 12 May 2007
  Time: 2.00 to 4.00pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg
  
  4. Cataract Public Forum in Mandarin
  Date: 19 May 2007
  Time: 1.30 to 3.30pm
  Venue: TTSH Theatrette, Level 1
  Registration Fee: $5
  For registration or enquiries, please contact Ms Lim Sing Yong / Mr Eugene Kwek at 6357-2678 / 7736 or email: Sing_Yong_Lim@ttsh.com.sg

Events at Alexandra Hospital relating to the Eye

2nd Glaucoma Day Forum

Last year the Glaucoma Society Singapore held its Glaucoma Day Forum on 3 June 2006 and it was an overwhelming success...

This year the 2nd Glaucoma Day Forum will be held on 22 July 2007 .. Look out on these pages for further announcements. The President,GSS revealed that: "The forum will feature a panel of world renowed specialists in Glaucoma."

AIGS World Glaucoma Congress in Singapore

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

17-21 July 2007, The AIGS WORLD GLAUCOMA CONGRESS with an attendance of about 2000 of the world’s ophthalmologists and those specializing in Glaucoma will meet in Singapore and the Glaucoma Society Singapore will be participating in the EXHBITION and likely the IAGPO discussion.

Check this out at:-

http://www.glaucoma-singapore.org/Events/AIGS07/SIN0707.html

The Role of Support Groups in Glaucoma Care

TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL : PUBLIC FORUM ON GLAUCOMA - 28th October 2006

TTSH : PUBLIC FORUM ON GLAUCOMA - 28th October 2006

This discussion was presented on 28th October 2006 in Singapore at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital : Public Forum on Glaucoma . There were about 200 participants at the Forum.

For Audio Replay please click : http://www.glaucoma-singapore.org/Alpha_Cell/TTSH/forum28oct2006.html

Is Your Sight Being Stolen?

'You could say that it is like waking up in the
morning and you feel that daylight comes later each year as glaucoma progresses. The leaves on the tree outside my window is a darker green now
compared with a livelier, fresher and brighter green years ago.'
- Sam Fong (left)

Pub Date: May 24, 2006 Pub: ST Author: ELAINEY

Supplement: Mind Your Body

Headline: Is your sight being stolen?

By: Elaine Young

Glaucoma accounts for just over 12 per cent of global blindness, according tothe World Health Organisation. Sometimes called the thief of sight', the disease cannot be prevented. However, it can be caught early and the damage limited. Elaine Young speaks to one man who has been living with glaucoma forseven years and won't let it stop him from reading or driving. Look into the eyes of 62-year-old Sam Fong and there are no obvious signs thathe has failing vision. His eyes are slightly red from the drops he administersdaily, but that is it. He clutches a book that he is in the middle of reading, and he still drives. The recently retired civil engineer has lived with glaucoma for seven years. Mr Fong did not realise he had glaucoma because there was no pain or any other symptom. 'The eye is a very accommodating instrument and doesn't complain,' he said. He learnt he had the disease in 1999 after undergoing surgery to remove cataract in his eyes. It was during the follow-up eye examination that he was told he had chronic primary open-angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is not one but a group of conditions in which the optic nerve suffers damage at the back of the eye. This optic-nerve damage causes loss of vision and, in time, blindness. The reason for the optic-nerve damage comes from high pressure. Eye pressure is maintained by the flow of liquid (aqueous humour) within the eye. In glaucoma, the eye's drainage system becomes clogged so the fluid cannot drain. As the fluid builds up, it causes pressure to build, and damage to theoptic nerve occurs. Once diagnosed with the disease, there is no cure, but lowering eye pressure slows progression and can save vision. Some people are more prone to the disease than others: people who are already myopic, those with a family history of glaucoma, those over 65 years old, those with a previous history of trauma to the eye or long-term use of topical steroid eye drops. Elderly Chinese women are on the risk list, as are African-Americans and diabetics.

A CHRONIC ILLNESS

The eye disease has left 4.5 million people in the world blind. According tothe World Health Organisation, it accounts for just over 12 per cent of all global blindness. In the foreword for the Ministry of Health's clinical practice guidelines for 2005, Professor K. Satku, director of medical services, states that across-sectional population survey of the Tanjong Pagar district reported the prevalence of glaucoma as 3.2 per cent in the Chinese population aged 40 yearsand above in 2000. He said: 'As Singapore's population ages, we can expect the incidence ofglaucoma to rise.' Professor Paul Chew Tec Kuan, head of glaucoma service and senior consultant, department of ophthalmology, National University Hospital (NUH),added: 'There are no good studies of severity and disease spread in Singapore aside from the data from the Tanjong Pagar study. Each glaucoma service of the Singapore National Eye Centre, NUH and Tan Tock Seng Hospital all see tens of thousands of cases a year.' Glaucoma is a chronic illness, said Prof Chew. 'It is analogous to diabetes and hypertension, but those two are well supported and understood. A lot of people don't know what glaucoma is,' he said.' There are different types of glaucoma: primary open angle, acute angle closure, chronic angle closure, secondary and congenital. Dr Lennard Thean, clinical director in the ophthalmology department at NUH,says that over-50s face an increased risk of both open-angled and angle-closure glaucoma. Open-angled glaucoma is caused by progressive blockage of the drainage channels of the eyeball, accompanied by a slow rise in pressure. This type has no symptoms.

THE SILENT DISEASE

Angle closure can be acute or chronic. Acute angle closure is the type that usually affects Chinese women. A sudden blockage of fluid results in a rapid rise in pressure. Symptoms are eye pain,headache, vomiting and blurred vision. Chronic angle closure is like open angle in that it progresses graduallyfrom progressive blockage of the drainage channels, and a prolonged rise inpressure. There are no symptoms. The chronic version is 10 times more common than the painful acute version,say the glaucoma experts at NUH. Added Prof Chew, 'The congenital forms can develop in children, teenagers and young adults, so you can get glaucoma problems at all stages in life.' Secondary glaucoma can be caused by injury to the eyeball. It is relatively rare, says Dr Thean, but things like wakeboarding, mountain biking, being punched in rugby or in boxing can result in glaucoma. The problem with most types of glaucoma, says Dr Thean, is that it can be asilent disease. That's why the doctors call it 'silent thief of vision' because it steals your vision before you realise it. He said: 'By the time you have tunnel vision, it's almost what we callend-stage glaucoma where an extensive amount of damage has occurred - 20 percent or more - and we are just trying to stabilise what we can.' 'We don't want people to think that if they don't have pain, they don't have glaucoma. People with pain will seek help because it is so severe. It's the silent ones you worry for because they lose their sight before they know theyare in trouble,' said Prof Chew. Even though any damage to the eye is permanent, the remaining vision can besaved and the disease controlled. Treatment is in the form of eye drops or,depending on severity, surgery to relieve the pressure on the eye. Tests are carried out every six months on the optic nerve, vision function and eyeball pressure. The cost of eye drops varies from $5 to $40 per bottle. Glaucoma cannot be prevented, but it can be caught early and damage limited.

Glaucoma can be managed

Dr Thean recommends that everyone 50 and over should have annual tests to screen for glaucoma. The disease is irreversible but research is under way, including at NUH, tofind ways to restore the nerves lost using stem cells. Prof Chew said the research is at the preliminary stages and 'there aremany, many steps' before it results in treatments. Mr Fong's glaucoma was detected at a very early stage and his optic nervewas slightly damaged, but the visual field (the range within which objects arevisible to the eye without moving the head) was intact. Prof Chew says that, ifyou catch it early, then controlling it means you are protecting what visionyou have. And Mr Fong uses his medication religiously. But he decided then that if he were to go blind, he wanted to learn to read a book in Chinese before losing his sight. And he has managed to do just that. He thinks 'reading is good for the eyes'. He uses a magnifying glass if the characters are small, but 'other than that, I'm fine'. He also maintains the website of the Glaucoma Society (Singapore). Mr Fong has no patience with self-pitying glaucoma sufferers who resign themselves to inevitable blindness. He acknowledges that 'the greatest fear is going blind, but if you haven't reached that stage, don't pre-empt it by acting as if you are'. 'After seven years, any doctor who looks at my eye will say that it is an advanced stage of glaucoma, but that doesn't prevent me from driving, and that doesn't prevent me from reading a book.' He treats his ailment with two types of eye drops. One is a topical carbonic annydrase inhibitor, which reduces the production of fluid. The other is a prostaglandin analogue, which increases drainage of fluid from the eye. He has a check-up every four or five months. He steers clear of any activity that would increase the pressure in the eye,avoiding exercise that requires the head to be below heart level. Taking one's medication is the most important thing, he said. 'Medication is expensive,gives a bit of blurring vision and causes my eye to sting a little bit sometimes.' His eye drops cost around $70 a month. He applies the drops four times a dayto his left eye and twice a day to his right. He said that in his left eye, he has '50 per cent zero vision, 20 per cent partial vision and 30 per cent acceptable clear vision'. In his right eye, he has '10 per cent zero vision, 30 per cent partial vision and 60 per cent acceptable clear vision'. He has various degrees of clarity at various points and his eyes' response differs to light intensity, colour and shade. 'You could say that it is like waking up in the morning and you feel that daylight comes later each year as glaucoma progresses. The leaves on the tree outside my window is a darker green now compared with a livelier, fresher and brighter green years ago.' Mr Fong suggests that glaucoma not be treated just as a disease, but as a condition that has to be managed. He advises those with the ailment to prove to themselves that they can do things normally, and when the time comes to take a step back, do it, but make it a small step back. He stresses that his eyes still function reasonably well. 'I can still drive a car, see beautiful things and read the newspapers.'

E-mail: elainey@sph.com.sg Website of the Glaucoma Society (Singapore): http://www.glaucoma-singapore.org