The work and influence of the Raghudeep Eye Clinic, Ahmedabad, India

Abstract

Interview by Tanya Stezhka, Commissioning EditorDr Abhay R Vasavada completed his FRCS in 1980 from the Royal College of Surgeons, England, and started Raghudeep Eye Clinic, as a cataract speciality clinic in 1984 in Ahmedabad, India. He has been instrumental in positioning cataract management as a subspeciality, and in raising the bar for management outcomes, be it the popularization of intraocular lens (IOLs) or establishing phacoemulsification as a standard of care, in the entire Asia-Pacific region. His expertise extends to managing the most complex and challenging cataracts in adults and children. He has made important contributions to the understanding and practise of cataract surgery like: emphasizing the role of balancing phaco fluidics (step-down technique); innovating a versatile chop technique (step-by-step chop in situ and lateral separation); defining paradigms for challenging cases like dense cataracts, small pupils and subluxated cataracts; devising the ‘inside-out delineation’ technique for posterior polar cataracts; recognizing the entity of ‘cortico-capsular adhesions’; and many more. He firmly believes that quality care should extend to all strata of society. He runs a center in a small town, Dholka, where the highest quality of eye care is provided to lesser privileged sections of society at nominal charges. Research is his passion right from his early days. He set up the Iladevi Cataract & IOL Research Center (ICIRC), a center providing basic research facility in 1991. Today, ICIRC is a Government of India recognized research laboratory dedicated to basic research and translational research pertaining to commonly prevalent eye conditions. He is a distinguished member of different ophthalmic bodies, including the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI), Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO), Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) and others.His contribution to ophthalmology has been recognized worldwide. Some of the most prestigious awards he has received include the Binkhorst Medal lecture by the ASCRS.