LIONS CLUB DONATES
$50,000 TO STONY BROOK OPHTHALMOLOGY
FOR EQUIPMENT TO ENHANCE
EYECARE COMBATTING BLINDNESS
Gift Helps Fund New Visual Field Machine and Laser
STONY BROOK, N.Y., June 11, 2011 – The Department of Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University Medical Center has received a $50,000 donation from the Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation (SCLDEF), part of Lions Clubs International of Suffolk County. The gift will help to purchase two new state-of-the-art instruments essential to diagnosing and treating eye conditions in order to prevent blindness.
“The Department of Ophthalmology is pleased to have joined with the Lions to help assist patients in danger of becoming blind,” says Patrick Sibony, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology. “By purchasing the latest visual field machine and trichomatic laser, our practice is additionally equipped to manage and treat eye conditions related to two leading causes of blindness – glaucoma and diabetes.”
Dr. Sibony says that diabetes patients will particularly benefit from the new clinical equipment. Indigent and uninsured patients will benefit as well, as the Department of Ophthalmology is a primary patient referral site from a network of Suffolk County-sponsored eyecare clinics.
“One of the biggest complications of diabetes is the damage that can adversely affect the eyes,” says Andy Viola, Chairman of SCLDEF. “Stony Brook’s commitment to deliver comprehensive eyecare services to the entire community has made the efforts of this grant a labor of love. We are proud to be their partner in this effort.”
Visual field tests are designed to map a person’s visual field and document level of peripheral vision. The diagnosis and management of glaucoma critically relies on assessment of visual field status and progress. The new instrument at Stony Brook, called the Humphrey Field Analyzer II, is a visual field machine that provides quick and accurate testing and can programmed to trend a patient’s visual field history and project future vision loss.
The new trichomatic laser, called the Novus Varia laser, has a variety of indications and can be used by both glaucoma and retinal specialists. By using this state-of-the-art laser, Stony Brook specialists can treat diabetes patients with diabetic retinopathy, including those with advanced retinopathy, diabetic neovascular glaucoma, and diabetic macular edema. This laser is also used to help treat other conditions, such as proliferative retinopathy from Sickle Cell disease and acute angle closure glaucoma.
About the Suffolk
County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation
The mission of the Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education
Foundation (SCLDEF) is to promote diabetes wellness through education and
support services. As a community service organization, SCLDEF offers support
groups, basic diet and diabetes prevention information, screenings and
educational training on living well with diabetes.
Photo Caption:
Members of the Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation (SCLDEF) presented a $50,000 donation to the Department of Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University Medical Center. Pictured with SCLDEF members are from left (front row): Bruce M. D’Abramo, District Governor, Port Jefferson Lions; Lions member Lorri Kerzner; Lions (holding check) Judy Swiss, Gloria Burton, and Andy Viola, Chair of SCLDEF; Al Brandell, Past Lions International President; Julie Brown, administrator, Department of Ophthalmology, Stony Brook University Medical Center; Patrick Sibony, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, and Fadi El Baba, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology.
