ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital flies around the world performing surgeries on the best teaching cases for local doctors and nurses.

1. ORBIS – Flying Eye Hospital
Mission to Panama – August 2013

2. ORBIS flies missions all over the world to
operate on eye patients that will bring the
maximum teaching value to local eye
doctors and nurses who observe the latest
procedures, equipment and techniques

3. We arrive in beautiful
Panama City with a team
of approximately 50
doctors, nurses,
technicians,
administrators,
volunteers, donors, etc.

4. Prior to the start of a Flying Eye Hospital visit, ORBIS
works with local partner hospitals to pre-select
patients whose conditions are relevant to that
program’s focus. Selected patients are then screened
by ORBIS Volunteer Faculty members at the program
site. Local eye healthcare professionals maintain
oversight of patients before, during and after surgery.

5. Doctors and nurses meet
patients one at a time to
evaluate which eye cases will
bring the greatest teaching
value to the local medical
community

6. When the patients are
selected for surgery,
they are also given a
thorough exam to
assure each is cleared
for the planned surgical
procedure

7. Jack McHale was our host for this
mission to Panama. His passion for
and personal connection with these
patients is wonderful to watch

9. Kids naturally
bond with each
other as each
waits to be
screened for
possible surgery
over the next
several days

10. Administrators explain the subtle aspects of
working with hospitals and the local medical
communities in countries all over the world

11. Here a cameraman
with the film
industry’s hottest
video camera
company “Red”
shows a potential
patient all the
amazing features of
his camera. “Red”
cameras have been
used to shoot feature
film block-busters
such as The Hobbit,
Thor, Star Trek,
Great Gatsby and
numerous others.

12. Local television news crews
also interview potential
patients and their families to
spread the word regarding
ORBIS missions

13. Volunteers provide gifts
for the children to occupy
their time and bring
smiles to their faces

15. Patients with endless conditions travel
from all parts of Panama hoping to be
selected for corrective procedures

17. Priority is given to children,
whenever possible, and to
patients with medical issues
in both eyes and those that
present the greatest
teaching value for the local
doctors.
On this mission, the
screening process
uncovered one patient with
an eye disease that had
only been studied in their
medical training, but no
doctor had ever seen in the
real world. Accordingly,
these missions sometimes
provide teaching
opportunities for ORBIS
doctors as well.

18. These young students had traveled from the United
Kingdom to observe the entire ORBIS teaching
method as part of their educational process

19. And, of course, kids will be
kids. Here a young potential
patient plays with a computer
during her evaluation

20. Doctors take numerous pictures of
patients to help catalogue cases during
the selection process. Pictures can then
be used as part of the teaching process
between doctors as they make their
surgical choices.

21. The youngest kids do
not know what is
happening, but their
lives are about to be
changed forever, if
they are fortunate
enough to be one of
the selected cases.
Within 24 hours, they
may be given the most
amazing gift of sight!

22. The DC-10 aircraft has been pre-positioned in Panama at a
remote airfield. It brings with it all essential services such as
water purification, electrical power, oxygen systems, etc.

23. When traveling, the
aircraft must carry
onboard all essential
services and be 100%
self-sufficient. After
landing at its destination,
each essential service
module is deployed from
its storage location to the
tarmac and operationally
activated.

24. As it is
August in
Panama, it is
extremely hot
and humid
outside the
aircraft, but
inside it is
perfectly
temperature
controlled.

25. This DC-10 is the oldest airframe of its type still flying. It has
been converted into a full surgical hospital with all required
support systems and complete teaching hospital
technological capabilities

26. In the 48-seat classroom at the front of the plane, local eye healthcare
professionals gather for lectures, discussions and live broadcasts of
surgical procedures being performed in the Flying Eye Hospital
operating room. If needed, surgeries can also be broadcast to an
additional classroom outside the aircraft, for instance, at a nearby
hospital. Large numbers of trainees observe the surgeries and ask
questions of the operating surgeons via a two-way audio-visual
system.

27. Several live interpreters
provide real time
translation into various
languages as part of the
teaching process.

28. Full technical support is
provided aboard the
aircraft with a state-of-
the-art, two-way close
circuit, video training
system

29. Video cameras inside microscopes in the surgical suite
broadcast close-up real time video feeds of the procedures
so doctors can train large groups of people while operating

30. In another part of the aircraft, other training
equipment and systems are made available
to local medical professionals

31. Here doctors are taught new surgical techniques
using training systems, many of which are
donated to ORBIS

33. Nurses intensively watch the latest medical procedures so they can
update their skills in support of local eye doctors

34. Towards the rear of the aircraft is the recovery room. Patients are also
staged here to be readied for pre-operative procedures.

35. The surgical suite itself has state-of-the-art
technology to provide the best eye care to
patients and provide a teaching forum.

36. Young patients are prepped
for surgery and the nursing
staff gets the operating room
ready for each new teaching
procedure

37. Older patients are also prepped for surgery having been selected
for their particular eye case teaching value

38. The bedside manner
of these fantastic
doctors is incredible
as they ease each
patient’s concern
about the impending
surgery.
These ORBIS doctors
donate their own
personal time to
participate in these
teaching missions.
One doctor on the
Panama mission had
been on over 100
ORBIS missions.

39. As the surgical suite is readied,
anesthesiologists prepare their
equipment

40. And the surgery and teaching
process begins.

44. Extremely delicate
procedures and years of
surgical experience guides
each patient through their
specific surgery

46. This is when
everything is
interconnected
and the magic
of ORBIS is in
full motion

47. So, the lucky selected
patients move swiftly
through the entire
process from being
prepped for surgery

48. Into the recovery room
with their families

49. After surgery, patients
are wheeled back into
the recovery room and
parents and other family
members are
immediately reunited
with their loved one

51. The “RED” videographer
prepares to enter the surgical
suite for some close-up videos.

52. Many sponsors support
ORBIS. Omega sent the
current “James Bond”
Daniel Craig on an
ORBIS Mission.

53. Daniel was humbled to see the phenomenal work
done by ORBIS saving sight globally

54. After the surgeries, the
doctors and nurses take
a break before getting
ready for the next wave
of patients.

55. The bond between the
medical staff is written on
their faces.

56. After a short recovery
process, the patients are
prepared to be moved
from the air base to the
hospital

57. Each patient is carefully
assisted down the stairs
from the aircraft into a
waiting ambulance for
transport

58. One of the many
consistent themes at
ORBIS is to provide each
child with a teddy bear

60. Teddy bears are seen all
over the aircraft

61. And bears are hidden
away in back packs for
transport home for the
kids when they fully
awaken

63. With surgical bandages
removed, these kids are
starting to see clearly for
the first time in their lives

65. We at Zodiac Aerospace
are proud to have
supported ORBIS’ new
MD-10 aircraft with
donations of Galley
Insert and Oxygen
Systems Equipment.