KNUST Final-Year Optometry Student Celebrated for Treating a Little Boy's Rare Eye Condition

• Doreen Tachie-Donkor, a final-year KNUST optometry student, helped treat a boy with an eye condition
• The condition, also known as Alukumi or Anikyew, causes the eyes to turn inward when they are focused
• The young woman reportedly collaborated with experts and used wet refraction and corrective lenses

Doreen Tachie-Donkor, a final-year optometry student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has achieved a major milestone even before her medical career officially begins.

The budding optometry student successfully treated a little boy diagnosed with Accommodative Esotropia, a rare condition where one or both eyes turn inward due to focusing efforts.

The eye condition is commonly referred to as ‘Alukumi’ by the Ga community and ‘Anikyew’ by the Akan people.

Doreen reportedly accomplished this remarkable feat in collaboration with a team of senior optometrists, under the supervision of Dr Okyere K. Attakora, head of the Eye Unit at the Westphalian Medical Centre in the Ashanti Region.

In a series of posts on X, in response to congratulatory messages and questions about the condition, Doreen explained that she employed many procedures to treat this seemingly complex eye issue.

Doreen Tachie-Donkor explains the eye procedure

Posting via her X handle, @dr_doreeeeenn, the young KNUST optometry student wrote:

“This little one has a type of strabismus called Accommodative Esotropia. Basically, his eyes turn inward, especially when he’s doing things like reading or focusing on close-up work."

First, she explained, the team used a prism bar to measure the eye deviation at around 25 prism dioptres.

“We then used a special eye drop called Cyclopentolate to relax the eye muscles so we could get a clear, full picture of his eye power. This process is called wet refraction.

"Once we gave him the correct prescription based on that, his eyes completely straightened. No surgery, just glasses! In other cases where glasses alone don’t work, surgery, prisms or vision therapy may be needed to help align the eyes.”

Due to the outpouring of inquiries about how she was able to treat the boy’s ‘Alukumi’ condition, Doreen expressed surprise that many Ghanaians were unaware that strabismus could be corrected.

She subsequently called for increased funding towards vision screening for children across the country.

“If you have the money and a heart for humanity, one of the best things you can do is fund vision screenings for children. Early detection can make all the difference,” she wrote.

Ghanaians celebrate optometry student's success

After news of Doreen’s achievement reached social media, many Ghanaians who came across the post flooded the comment section to congratulate her.

YEN.com.gh has listed some of the reactions:

@parrticulars said:

“This is so lovely to see, to be able to avoid the future bullying that will surely happen. I can sense the young man is brilliant, great things to come from him.”

@Blaugrana_Nurse commented:

“Wow! This is amazing. Thanks for the breakdown of the treatment process, too.”

@NanaOwusu978687 added:

“God bless you.”

Below is the X post celebrating Doreen's achievement:

10 KNUST optometry students secure fellowships

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that 10 KNUST optometry students were awarded the prestigious American Academy of Optometry Student Fellowship.

The students had the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research and enhance their knowledge of modern technology in their field of expertise.

The students from the Ghanaian university were also granted complimentary registration for the AAO Annual Meeting taking place in Boston.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh