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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 15 March 2015:
A Libyan eye surgeon in the UK is revolutionising treatment of macular degeneration, making improved eyesight . . .[restrict]a possibility for the nearly half a billion worldwide who suffer from the age-related sight loss.
Ahmed Nagiati El-Amir may be young—he’s only 37 years old—but he has already distinguished himself as one of the world’s leading eye surgeons. El-Amir treats patients in hospitals in the UK and at his own private practice, Harley Street Eye Associates.
Macular degeneration affects the centre of the vision, leaving sufferers only able to see out of the periphery of the vision. It is the leading cause of blindness in the UK. Most patients, once diagnosed, had eventual blindness to look forward.
El-Amir has pioneered a surgery that places a tiny telescope in the eye. The telescope re-directs images to the healthy part of the retina.
This marks the first time that such a sight-restoring surgery has been available for patients with macular degeneration who have also developed cataracts.
Meanwhile, another Libyan has distinguished herself in the UK, winning the 2015 Young Scientist award. Sarah Sobka, a 17 year old secondary school student in Sheffield, England, won the prestigious national award for her research on the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
Sobka worked for four weeks last summer with a team at the University of Sheffield, looking at a drug used to treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome and assessing its potential efficacy in treating cystic fibrosis.
In an interview with the National Science and Engineering Competition UK, Sobka said that seeing doctors working on a humanitarian level in Libya has inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. [/restrict]
