Dr. Allen Zieker of Albany-Troy Cataract & Laser Associates has returned home after a week-long trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador where he performed free cataract surgery with Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International. Zieker donated his time and paid his own travel expenses to take part in this international humanitarian effort.
Zieker, a well respected cataract surgeon in the Capital Region serves as the Medical Director of Albany Regional Eye Surgery Center in Latham, New York, and serves on the Seton Foundation Board of Trustees.
This expedition was hosted by Dr. Eddie Icaza, a distinguished Ecuadorian ophthalmologist and the Ophthalmology Director of Funcrisa, a non-profit organization committed to improving health of the people in Guayaquil. Icaza and his family opened their home to Zieker and two other surgeons from the United States, Dr. Mark Piotrowski of Chicago, Illinois and Dr. Stephen Tait of Birmingham, Michigan.
Zieker, Icaza, and the other visiting surgeons performed about 90 cataract surgeries during the week in Ecuador. The patients seeking the surgery would not normally have access to such care. “It was rewarding to bring sight to people who had no vision and no hope before we arrived” said Zieker. “Patients who received our services were the poorest of the poor.”
Nancy Zieker, Dr. Allen Zieker’s wife also traveled with the expedition, where she had the opportunity to participate in patient care. Nancy Zieker helped prep the patients for the surgeries, and also bandaged the patients and administered antibiotics when their surgeries were complete.
According to the World Health Organization, cataracts are the cause of roughly half of the world’s 37 million cases of blindness. SEE International and their network of volunteer surgeons have preformed over 360,000 surgeries since its inception.
Founded in 1974, SEE is a non-profit organization that deploys surgical teams to developing nations to perform sight-restoring procedures. Last year alone, over 9,000 individuals received life-changing surgery by SEE volunteer doctors. More than 600 doctors from 75 countries belong to SEE International’s network of volunteers.
For more information on SEE international, please visit http://www.seeintl.org/.
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