Today's opthalmology rotation lead us in to the Operating Theatre, where we saw 2 and 1/2 cataract removal surgeries. (It would have been 3, but we have to learn to factor in the morning Vincentian "rush hour," and stop leisurely strolling it at 8:30am.) The operations we saw were a variation of [1] Extracapsular Cataract Extraction, in which a smaller-than-usual incision is made into the eye, a "tunnel" is created, the lens is manually pulled out and replaced with an artificial lens. The cool thing is the small incision does not require stitches in the eye, and after a recovery time of a week or less, the patient has 20/20 vision, as it is possible to correct refractive visual deficits with the new artificial lens. (Note: SVG does have a [2] phacoemulsification machine, the newest method of cataract removal, but at a cost of $90,000US per surgery, it doesn't see much use.)

And the best part? We managed to make it to the hospital and back without any car accidents (though one of my roommates did manage to give us one of his patented daily near-death experiences).