Nov 2016

‘A celebration of research’
The 10th annual HealtheX Conference
was hosted by the Faculty of Medical and
Health Sciences, University of Auckland, on
9 September 2016. Sponsored by the Auckland
Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) and
the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust (MPPT)
among others, the event was attended by over
200 members of the University of Auckland
community, including Vice Chancellor Professor
Stuart McCutcheon and Deputy Vice Chancellor of
Research Professor James Metson.
This year saw around $15,000 worth of prizes on
offer, including three AMRF travel awards, more
than ever before at HealtheX, in what the Faculty
called, ‘a day of celebration of student research
conducted at the Faculty’.
Among the winners were Hans Vellara and
Himanshu Wadhwa from the Department of
Helping
Niue
Eye Doctors’ and Counties Manukau
specialist Dr Penny McAllum recently
returned from her fifth trip to the island
of Niue, where she helps provide eye care to the
1400 residents.
“There are usually two or three doctors on the
island, which is quite a good ratio for the small
population,” she says. “Niuean’s are also citizens
of New Zealand, so they are entitled to treatment
here as well, but by sending an eye team, more
patients can have access to eye care close to
home, eye disease can be identified at an earlier
stage and a lot fewer patients need to travel for
treatment.”
Dr McAllum, together with Auckland Eye’s
Dr Sarah Welch, were originally asked to help
Niue by the late Dr David Murdoch, who had
a particular passion for making sure underequipped
Pacific regions had access to specialist
eye care. Both have now been helping the island
population since 2009, travelling to Niue every
two years and performing mainly cataract and
pterygium surgery, and providing intravitreal
Avastin injections.
They see patients with a variety of eye
conditions, including a number of young people
with keratoconus, some of whom have now been
treated with cross-linking, says Dr McAllum.
Last year two Counties Manukau DHB-based
diabetic retinopathy photo-screeners, with a
retinal camera, also came with the Niue eye
team for the first time. This was a very successful
addition to the service, so yearly photo-screening
visits have now been instituted, with the full
team undertaking surgery still on alternate years.
“This year was a short trip, focused on diabetic
Dr Penny McAllum, far right with Niuean colleagues Charmaine,
middle, and Raina, left
Ophthalmology. Vellara, whose supervisor is A/
Prof Dipika Patel, was a runner up in the AMRF
Doctoral Oral Presentation category for his In vivo
orbital compliance in thyroid eye disease research.
Wadhwa, whose supervisor is A/Prof Trevor
Sherwin, was awarded second-runner up in the
non-doctoral oral presentation award category,
for research titled Investigating the use of corneal
stem cell-enriched spheres in keratoconic corneal
tissue repair.
Spurred on by his success at Healthex, Wadhwa
went on to win first prize for his oral presentation
at the University of Auckland’s Exposure (postgraduate
research) Exposition, on the same topic.
Exposure is open to all currently enrolled research
postgraduate students at UoA. The Healthcare Oral
Competition, won by Wadhwa, was sponsored by
Fisher and Paykel. ▀
Over 80 patients were examined on this trip
screening. It was just one diabetic photo
screener, the Australia-based Niuean eye nurse
and myself on this visit. We saw more than 80
patients,” Dr McAllum said. “There was one lady
with bad AMD and a young man with severe
iritis. I referred half a dozen cataract patients
back to New Zealand for treatment.”
Dr McAllum always involves local doctors,
whenever they are available. “The young man
with iritis started treatment and responded well,
but it was a good teaching opportunity for me to
show the local doctors how to diagnose iritis and
operate the slit lamp. This helps them manage
eye patients between the team’s visits. We
also keep in touch by email.”
The vast majority of patients Dr McAllum
saw this year were suffering from diabetic
retinopathy. “Diabetes is a big problem in
Niue, with about 250 diabetics in the small
population. There seems to be a genetic
predisposition to diabetes, but lifestyle and
dietary factors also contribute.”
Seven diabetic patients were referred back to
New Zealand for laser or surgical treatment,
while Avastin treatment was started with
some others.
During this trip, Dr McAllum was also
interviewed by a local television crew, which
featured the eye team on their news that
night. “It was a great chance to get the word
out in the community that diabetes can cause
serious eye problems and that, as well as good
control, it needs regular screening to catch it
before vision is lost.”
Dr McAllum says she really enjoys helping
the Niueans in Niue. “Everyone is so friendly
and it’s a lovely place to spend a few days. It’s
a pleasure catching up with the many patients
and staff who we now know quite well, and
feeling like we’re making a difference to eye
health in Niue.” ▀
MDNZ public lecture on 9 November
On 9 November, Macular Degeneration New
Zealand will be hosting a free public lecture
at the Auckland War Memorial Events
centre and again on 15 November at the Grand
Hall, Parliament, Wellington, to raise awareness of
macular degeneration. The speaker will be Professor
Alan Bird, a British ophthalmologist, internationally
recognised as one of the pioneers of medical retina.
He is a professor and consultant at the Institute of
Ophthalmology at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in
London, UK.
Professor Bird’s talk, “The Treatment Revolution
of AMD”, will take a look at how the management
of AMD has changed, and is still changing,
for the benefit of the patient – something he
himself is very well versed in. Prof Bird created
a multidisciplinary research team based at
Moorfields that investigates monogenic retinal
disorders and age-related macular disease.
Investigative techniques include molecular genetics,
electrophysiology, psychophysics, specialised
imaging and morphology.
This research resulted in
the development of new
technologies to define
the clinical characteristics
of retinal disease
providing a clearer
understanding of retinal
degenerative diseases.
Professor Alan Bird
Prof Bird has also
undertaken extensive
international work in Africa on river blindness and
in Jamaica on retinal changes in sickle cell disease.
He has written more than 370 papers published
in refereed journals as well more than 80 book
contributions.
The Auckland event is open to all optometrists,
ophthalmologists and ophthalmic nurses, and for
optometrists CPD points are being applied for. The
lecture starts at 6:30pm and if you wish to attend
you should email education@mdnz.org.nz. ▀
VOSO visits Samoa
Aside from the
television
advertisements
showcasing tranquil
island getaways,
I knew very little
about Samoa when
I decided to take
the opportunity to
accompany John
Tarbutt on VOSO’s
annual optometric
outreach trip to
Samoa in August
this year.
We spent a week
on the beautiful island of Savai’i; working
at Safotu and Tuasivi hospitals; refracting,
examining and giving out new and pre-loved
spectacles we had brought with us from NZ.
We were fortunate to be able to work with
Samoa’s only resident optometrist, Fuiavailili
Erna Takazawa, who is based in the capital
Facilities in Samoa are very basic
E Y E W E A R
MERSEYBEATEYEWEAR.CO.UK
BY DEVASHINI DEVANANDAN*
Devashini Devanandan hard at work
Apia, as well as
several welltrained
eye nurses
at the local
hospitals. For most
of the year, these
nurses offer the
only optometric
and ophthalmic
care to the island’s
residents.
We were also
able to identify
many cases of
pathology which
were referred
for ophthalmic
care when the next surgical team arrive on
the island. With the lack of adequate eye
care, many simple pathological cases, such as
cataract, pterygia and diabetic retinopathy,
were in their most advanced states; to a level
which we would never see in NZ. While acutely
aware of how much more I would be able to
offer these patients if they
were in my home practice
in Waikato, their gratitude
for our services provided
the driving force to make
this appeal a success.
My week in Samoa was
an eye-opening experience
which enabled me to
appreciate the true value
of the care we offer as
optometrists. It was a
privilege to be able to
help the lovely people of
Savai’i, and I encourage any
interested optometrists
to volunteer their time for
future outreaches should
the opportunity arise. ▀
*Devashini Devanandan is a
Cambridge-based recent optometry
graduate
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November 2016
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