He was born with a cataract in each eye. A cataract is an opacification or a cloudiness of the lens of the eye. This morning, his mother accompanied him in the pre-op area. He has never been able to see her face clearly.
The hospital ship eye doctors and nurses took Jersicio into the operating room, and after the anesthetic was given, Jersicio’s left cataract was removed. A small incision was made into his eye at the edge of the cornea. The phacoemulsification machine was used. It is equipped with an ultrasonic hand piece that has a titanium tip which vibrates 40,000 times per second and is used to remove the cloudy lens. Then a silicone intraocular lens was placed into the eye. It is about one-tenth the size of a pea. The surface of the eye was then closed with a tiny needle and very fine suture. I was standing right behind the eye surgeon as he put in the stitches using the operating microscope, and I could barely even see the suture.
For the next two weeks, Jersicio will wear an eye guard to protect the eye as it heals. If all goes as planned, Jersicio will return to the operating room before the “Mercy” departs in order to have the cataract in his right eye removed also. The new lenses will last for the rest of his life.
Thanks to the skilled Navy ophthalmologists and Pacific Partnership 2010, for the first time, Jersicio can now see!
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