Bringing Ophthalmic Surgery to Those in Need

January 28th to February 6th, Dr. Robert McCulloch took a break from his work at Horizon Eye Specialists to spend some time giving back. He traveled to the Philippines with a medical mission group, organized by the Lions Club. He was part of a team of doctors providing eye exams and surgery to the people of Cavite in The Philippines. During their one-week trip the volunteer doctors and nurses saw thousands patients and fitted many in donated eyeglasses. In this week, 185 ophthalmic surgery procedures were performed. Dr. McCulloch stated that the case numbers don’t express the individual impact of this work. “One of my surgery patients was a nun, who I did cataract surgery on her left eye seven years ago. When she heard I was part of this mission trip, she said her faith told her it was time for her to take care of surgery needed on her right eye.” Dr. McCulloch also shared that “One boy was blind in both eyes. He traveled 8 hrs to see us. No one would do his surgery, so I did his left eye one day and his right eye the next day. When we saw him at 8pm after his first surgery he could see 20-40. He was all smiles, and his mama was crying. It is a humbling experience for those of us participating in these missions.”

This was Dr. McCulloch’s eighth medical mission. He began participating in these programs when he was in medical school. He has provided care for people in Mexico, Thailand, and Honduras, along with his three missions to The Philippines. Dr. McCulloch hopes to participate in another medical mission trip later this year.

The Lions Club has been committed to helping those in need with their eye care for many years. They provide such services here in the U.S. as well as through international missions like this one to the Philippines.