Information from the departments of Interim Hospital Facility is available currently

Faculty Members: Dr. Tanie Natung,  Asst. Prof.  Ophthalmology E mail: The department of Ophthalmology was started on November 24, 2008 with the joining of Dr. Tanie Natung as Assistant Professor and In –Charge. The department had to be started from scratch since it was non-existent. At present OPD services are being provided 6 days a week from Monday to Saturday. Emergency service is being provided round the clock. The process of setting up of Eye O.T. is going on and is expected to be completed very soon. INFRASTRUCTURE: The department of Ophthalmology was started on 24th November, 2008 with the joining of Dr. T. Natung as Assistant Professor and In-Charge of the department. The OPD of Ophthalmology is situated on the first floor of the hospital building. The OPD is well equipped with the following state of art instruments:- Snellen’s Visual Acuity Boxes (motorized) for testing the vision Autorefractometer for testing the power of the eye Direct and Indirect Ophthalmoscopes (Heines) to examine the retina of the eye Slit lamps(Haag-Streit) for the examination of the eye; one of them having imaging system for capturing the anterior segment images Applanation(Haag-Streit) & Schiotz tonometers for examining the intraocular pressure Automated Perimeter (Humphrey) for analysing the visual field B-scan (OTI Scan) for scanning the posterior segment of the eye. Pachymeter (Sonomed) for measuring the thickness of cornea Gonioscope(Volk) to examine the angles of the eye Lensometer ( Shin-Nippon) for finding the power of glasses PATIENT CARE SERVICES: At present the department of Ophthalmology runs OPD six days a week from Monday to Saturday. The OPD turn over is about 50 patients per day - both old and new cases. The  The OPD attendance of the year 2009-2010 is as follows: MONTH MALE FEMALE TOTAL APRIL 2009 221 263 484 MAY 2009 258 349 607 JUNE 2009 300 359 659 JULY 2009 355 451 806 AUGUST 2009 259 350 609 SEPTEMBER 2009 278 377 655 OCTOBER 2009 300 425 725 NOVEMBER 2009 270 336 606 DECEMBER 2009 197 245 442 JANUARY 2010 235 285 520 FEBRUARY 2010 255 321 576 MARCH 2010 312 386 698 TOTAL 3240 4147 7387 Cross-references of all departments from OPDs, Wards, Casualty, ICU, CCU and   PICU are attended. Emergency services are provided round the clock everyday. EYE OT: A separate Eye OT is required for ophthalmic surgeries due to concern for high chance of eye infections in case of operating in general OTs. Since there was no preexisting Eye OT, one was required to be set up. The process of making the separate Eye OT got delayed due to various reasons. Nevertheless, it has been started and once the construction is finished the eye surgeries will be started. The equipments required for the Eye OT like operating microscopes (Lumera –Zeiss), phacoemulsifier (Laureate-Alcon), O.T. tables, A-scan, cryo etc. are being procured in phase-wise manner. In the meantime, the department of Ophthalmology helps the Meghalaya Blindness Control Programme (MBCS) in operating cases of cataracts by phacoemulsification, glaucoma, eyelid disorders and other anterior segment disorders etc. at Civil Hospital, Shillong. MINOR Procedures in OPD: Minor procedures like foreign body removal, syringing of nasolacrimal duct, chalazion curettage, cyst removal, lid surgeries like lid laceration repair etc. are done routinely in the eye OPD. ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES: Theory classes related to Ophthalmology are taken for the 1st year MBBS students in collaboration with the department of Physiology. Regular theory classes in Ophthalmology are taken for the 2nd year MBBS students. Clinical teachings for the 2nd year MBBS students have started and the schedules are being done as per the MCI requirement. Similarly, regular theory classes for the BSc Nursing students are taken and clinical teachings are done as and when they are posted in the department. For the benefit of the residents and students regular classes and case discussions are done. Journal Reviews of various Index journals are done every month. The department takes active participation in the interdepartmental CMEs conducted every Saturday. RESEARCH: The department has started research work in 3 topics in collaboration with other departments.  CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (April 2009 – March 2010): Dr. T. Natung and Dr. Geetopam Bordoloi(Senior Resident) attended the CME on “Evidence based medicine and Evidence informed health care” presented by Dr. Prathap Tharyan, Director of South Asian Cochrane Network and Centre on 9th June, 2009. The topic “Diabetic Retinopathy and its clinical implications” was presented by Dr. T. Natung on 18TH July 2009 during one of the Institute CMEs. Dr. T. Natung attended the workshop on ‘Advancement in Cataract Technology’ held on 24th and 25th July 2009 at Goa. Dr. T. Natung attended the workshop on ‘Role of Human Papilloma Virus in Upper Aero Digestive Tract common in North East’ conducted by the Department  of Biotechnology at NEIGRIHMS. The department conducted an awareness programme on the occasion of the “World Sight Day” on the 8th of October, 2009. Assay and poster competitions for the MBBS and BSc Nursing students were held on the topic of importance of eyesight in the morning. Pamphlets emphasizing the importance of eyesight were distributed to the patients and a small talk was given to them in the OPD area. In the evening, a short skit was performed by the MBBS students in the auditorium. A speech followed by power point presentation highlighting the importance of the “World Sight Day” celebration was delivered by Dr. T. Natung. It was followed by speech and prize distribution by the Director of the Institute Professor Dr. M.E. Yeolekar.      INTERCOLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES: The department of Ophthalmology, NEIGRIHMS collaborates with the Meghalaya Blindness Control Programme (MBCS) in controlling the burden of blindness in the state. Dr. T. Natung helps the Meghalaya Blindness Control Programme by operating cases of cataracts, glaucoma, nasolacrimal duct block, eyelid disorders and other anterior segment disorders at Civil Hospital, Shillong. Cataract operations are done with the latest technology of phacoemulsification.      PLAN OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE  YEAR 2010-1011: The department plans to start and run the full fledged Eye OT once the construction is over. Patients requiring surgeries will be immensely benefited. The department is in the process of acquiring all the instruments required as per the MCI guidelines including slit lamp and perimeter for the ward, synoptophore, cryo, bagolini striated glasses etc. This is required for MCI affiliation of our college. The department also plans to start ‘Medical Retina Clinic’ for the benefit of the patients with diabetic retinopathy, branch or central retinal vein occlusions and other diseases involving the retina and vitreous of eye. For this, demand for Fundus Flourescein Angiography unit and Posterior segment laser (Green) unit have been placed before the administration. When these are made available the patients with various retinal conditions will be benefited. Demand for Nd: YAG laser also has been placed before the administration. Once it is available patients with posterior capsular opacification and glaucoma will be treated with Nd: YAG laser.