Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

Building on Existing Strength Research conducted in the centre has resulted in the publication of 55 papers in 1998. The wards for cancer patients have recently been renovated with an integrated unit for high dependency patients. As cancer research is expected to develop very rapidly in the next few years, work by the faculty and HKCI is also expected to make its impact felt in Hong Kong and the world. A Rosy Future for Ophthalmology 'Oh! So that's how I look..' This and other similar exclamations escaped from eight-year-old Wi ng Yee, bubbling with curiosity about the world. She was born with weak sight and developed cataract at a later age. But thanks to surgery by Prof. Dennis Lam, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, she has regained her vision. Prof. Lam removed the cataract, replaced the cloudy lens with a crystal, and transplanted limbal stem cells from her mother's cornea. Born with ectodermal dysplasia, Wing Yee's vision was below 0.1 (normal vision being 1). When she was studying at the Ebenezer School for the Blind, the doctors at The Chinese University discovered that her eyes were curable. She underwent surgery in 1997. She is now going to a regular school. Breakthroughs Made Possible by High Technology Wing Yee would perhaps never have been able to see i f it wasn't for the new and advanced technology that cures previously incurable eye diseases. Sight is perhaps the most important of our five senses. Over 90 per cent of the information that goes to our brain does so through vision. When our eyes go wrong, study, work and daily living are affected. And in this information age, vision gains even greater precedence over hearing, taste, and smell. Prof. Lam said, 'Compared to surgery and medicine, ophthalmology is a new speciality. It relies on sophisticated technology, using the laser and the endoscope for surgery. As Hong Kong's population is ageing and the demand for eye care services is on the r i se, its p o t e n t i al f or development is tremendous.' Teaching and Clinical Services He pointed out that since its f ound i ng in 1993, the C U HK Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has been making important contribution towards advancing teaching and clinical services. The department is responsible for training medical students from The Chinese University and the University of Hong Kong in Prof. Dennis Lam Medical Teaching and Research at CUHK 13