URUGUAY, July 18, 2007.- A new group of Uruguayans with eye ailments left Montevideo en route to Havana where they will receive eye surgery under the Operation Milagro program sponsored by Cuba and Venezuela. The 71 patients traveled on the same plane that returned 55 of their compatriots who recently had their sight-restoring operations. With that group, a total of 1,849 people from the South American nation have been operated on in Cuba. Before going to Cuba for treatment, all potential patients are examined in their home communities by a team of two Cuban ophthalmologists and two eye technicians led by Dr. Carlos Sierra. The most frequent surgery is to remove cataracts, but there are also many cases of pterygium (a fleshy growth that invades the cornea) and ptosis (an abnormally low position (drooping) of the upper eyelid), Sierra told Prensa Latina. In Uruguay a cataract operation costs 1,500 USD for each eye, and 300 USD for contact lenses. The low-income patients traveling to Havana would continue suffering blindness or limited vision if it wasn't for the Cuban solidarity. Cuba's contribution, which is completely free of charge to the patient, has been channeled via the Uruguayan ministries of Public Health and Social Development under the "We Need to See" program. It includes the air transportation. On Thursday the team led by Sierra will travel to the small town of Florencio Sanchez in the Department of Colonia (175 km west-northwest of Montevideo) to examine other possible patients. Afterwards, the team is scheduled to do the same for three days in Cerro Largo, 385 km northwest of the capital. According to the World Health Organization, some four million Latin Americans suffer from treatable blindness. Operation Miracle has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people from a number of countries to have their sight restored or improved. (Cubaminrex-PL)
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