When earlier this year I read about a documentary called Hospital in the Sky , my curiosity was piqued. Was this a metaphor for something? I soon found out that it was quite literally an eye hospital aboard a plane, which travels the world to treat patients. This specially-converted jumbo jet is called Orbis’ Flying Eye Hospital. It is a fully-equipped mobile ophthalmic hospital as well as a teaching facility. The documentary is an eye-opener and the narrator is the Swiss watch brand OMEGA’s ambassador Cindy Crawford, who talks about how Orbis’ flying hospital was set up in 1982 and has travelled to 92 countries helping over 23 million lives. This film is a 48-minute joint production between OMEGA and Orbis and it chronicles model Crawford and her daughter Kaia’s day aboard the Flying Eye Hospital in Trujillo, Peru.
Orbis is a large international charity dedicated to saving eyesight and has been teaching and training doctors, nurses and bio-medical engineers in the skills needed to save sight. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is the result of a unique convergence of medical and aviation industries. Once the people at Orbis realised that the high costs of tuition, international travel and accommodations prevented most doctors and nurses in developing countries from participating in overseas training programmes, they built a system where the treatment and the knowledge went to the patients and doctors, alike. So what made a luxury watch brand like OMEGA get involved in a project like this? “The nature of our support is twofold: we make a financial contribution that is linked to the sales of certain watches while we use our international reputation to raise awareness about what Orbis is doing to change lives around the world. We have learned from our friends at Orbis that the vast majority of blindness on Earth is preventable or treatable. Knowing that motivates us to do all we can to help the organisation and to raise its profile,” says Stephen Urquhart, President of OMEGA.
Away from the bright lights of catwalks and fashion events, Crawford found herself trading her red-carpet looks for a hospital scrub. When asked about the experience in an email interview, she says, “I have had the opportunity to take part in a number of amazing things over the years, but my recent trip to Peru to see firsthand the work that the Orbis does on the Flying Eye Hospital was definitely a highlight, and the fact that Kaia was there with me to share the experience made it even more special.” While on the outside, the plane is like any other aircraft, the inside is like no other. It hosts an ophthalmic hospital and teaching facility right on board. The aircraft is also specifically designed to land in difficult conditions and is self-sufficient.
Orbis visits developing countries and focusses on helping people with limited access to advanced surgical procedures, “I’ve always been aware of the fact that people living in developing countries face different challenges than those who live in more developed areas of the world. Standing alongside Orbis’ medical professionals as they treated their patients made me more aware of the prevalence of preventable blindness and how devastating impaired vision can be for people in all walks of life no matter where they live,” says Crawford. The plane has a laser room and its two main functions are examining patients before and after surgery and performing laser surgery. Unlike surgery performed in a standard operation theatre, laser surgery does not require a sterile environment. There’s no need to open up living tissue, so there is no risk of infection. Some of the instruments are equipped with cameras, so trainees in the classroom can see the view from inside the microscope. Much of this equipment is fitted with second eyepieces so two doctors can examine the patient, simultaneously. The room also contains an EYESI simulator for intraocular surgery. The view through the EYESI microscope is similar to the familiar stereovision through the surgical microscope and allows the user to experience intraocular surgery realistically outside the operating room. The operating room is strategically located in the most stable part of the aircraft — in line with the wings of the plane. There are five cameras in the room that generate large close-up shots of the procedure as well as overall wide shots of the operations. The floor and ceilings of the room have been reinforced to accommodate heavy equipment, which is either stored or strapped down during flight. The sub-sterile room is equipped with scrub sinks that provide water that is potable, filtered through a 12-step process involving charcoal, UV light and chemical compound filters. The recovery room is equipped with three beds and monitors and a crash cart for emergencies. The area is also used for training local nurses in patient care.
So where do the students and trainees gather to observe and learn first-hand various surgical procedures?
The Orbis aircraft has a 48-seat classroom in the front of the plane where local healthcare professionals can come together for discussions and live broadcast of surgical procedures being conducted in the operating room on the aircraft. They can observe, learn and ask questions to the operating surgeons via a two-way audio-visual system. Seeing first-hand the work of the Orbis hospital was definitely a once-in-a -lifetime experience for Crawford herself. “It would be difficult to pick just one or two moments from the trip that are more memorable than others. Witnessing the life-changing work that the Orbis volunteers do and being there when children who had been treated onboard the Flying Eye Hospital opened their eyes and could see was so meaningful. It’s an experience I’ll treasure for the rest of my life,” she says.
In 2013, the Orbis visited India for the fourth time and worked out of a base in Kolkata. More recently, the plane visited Vietnam, offering the locals much-needed aid. The plane is flown by volunteer pilots who take medical professionals on board the state-of-the-art airplane to developing countries. What’s more, medical volunteers donate time and transfer their expertise, knowledge skills and help build eye-care platforms for the future.
