A 15-year-old boy from Eswatini was scheduled to return home yesterday with greatly improved eyesight after undergoing a series of complex eye surgeries in Taiwan over the past month. His treatment was made possible through the efforts of Taiwanese doctors and support from public and private partners.
The teen, nicknamed Hsiao Ching (小清), was first seen by Dr. Sun Chi-chin (孫啟欽), an ophthalmologist at Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH), during a medical mission to Eswatini in February. At the time, Hsiao had extremely poor uncorrected vision of just 0.1, which meant he couldn’t see distant objects or read the blackboard in class.
“I saw something white in his left eye and thought we might be able to help,” Sun said during a press conference in Taipei. He recalled Hsiao as a shy boy who always kept his head down.
Hsiao has lived in an orphanage run by the Amitofo Care Center, a Buddhist NGO founded by Taiwanese monk Venerable Hui-Li, since he was nine. The center arranged for Dr. Sun to visit during his volunteer trip to the country.
Eswatini is one of only 12 countries that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan — and the only one in Africa. With financial backing from a Taiwanese company and assistance from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, travel arrangements were made for Hsiao to fly to Taiwan in early April.
Once in Taiwan, doctors discovered that Hsiao had previously received intraocular lens implants in both eyes. However, his right eye still suffered from severe farsightedness and astigmatism, while his left eye had serious complications, including iridocorneal adhesions and posterior capsule opacity. If left untreated, his condition could lead to glaucoma, corneal swelling, and even blindness, Dr. Sun explained.
To restore his vision, Sun and fellow ophthalmologist Dr. Yang Ling (楊嶺) performed several surgeries at Keelung CGMH. These included intraocular lens replacement and vitrectomy (removal of the eye’s gel-like interior) on the left eye. On the right eye, they performed photorefractive keratectomy, a laser procedure to correct vision.
All surgeries were fully covered by the hospital. As a result, Hsiao’s uncorrected vision improved to between 0.5 and 0.7 in both eyes — a dramatic change that now allows him to see the blackboard clearly and take part in daily life with confidence.
Before surgery, Hsiao said his eyes were in constant pain and he couldn’t do much. “Now I can do many things,” he shared, including singing and dancing. He also revealed that one of his dreams is to become a doctor in the future.
After six weeks in Taiwan for treatment and recovery, Hsiao was expected to fly home last night. His story has been praised as a powerful example of Taiwan’s ongoing medical collaboration with Africa.
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