Nguyen Thi Phuong is bright and beautiful, with an engaging smile. No longer the anxious, insecure young woman she was two years earlier, when an orbital tumor threatened her sight, and her life, Phuong, 22, is now positive, confident and looking forward to the future — thanks to ORBIS International volunteer ophthalmologist Mark Cepela. 

Nguyen Thi Phuong with her parents and grandmother

“Phuong had lost most of the sight in her right eye because of the tumor,” Dr. Cepela said. “Without the surgery, she would have lost all of it.”

A seamstress in a garment factory in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam, Phuong suspected something was wrong when she found herself constantly dabbing at her eyes. Taking her hands off her sewing machine to wipe away tears, she got farther and farther behind in production and feared losing her job.  

But Phuong’s incessant tearing was only the beginning. Her supervisor pointed out that her eyes looked misaligned, and as time passed, Phuong’s right eye grew disproportionately larger, bulging out from the socket. Before long Phuong couldn’t close her eye anymore, and her supervisor recommended she see a doctor.

Diagnosed but untreatable

In early 2005 Phuong traveled 200 km to Hanoi to seek treatment at the Vietnamese National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO). There she learned she had a tumor pressing against her optic nerve. The doctor told her that without surgery to remove the tumor, she ran the risk of frequent conjunctivitis and possibly eye cancer, which could prove fatal.

A tumor caused Phuong's eye to bulge out from the socket.

Phuong's tumor was operable, she learned, but VNIO ophthalmologists lacked the specialized training and equipment to perform the surgery. No one at the hospital had ever performed the operation she required.

“I was scared,” Phuong said. With her bulging eye affecting her looks, she felt she had little chance of finding a husband. And her weakening vision and decreased productivity at the garment factory placed her at serious risk of losing her job. Above all else, however, was the possibility that the tumor could turn cancerous, and she could die.

But there was hope. ORBIS volunteer faculty were coming to VNIO later that year to teach staff how to treat orbital tumors. Phuong agreed to come back when the ORBIS doctors could see her.

ORBIS volunteer ophthalmologist saves Phuong’s sight

Phuong with Dr. Cepela

Dr. Mark Cepela came to Hanoi in July 2005 to participate in an ORBIS hospital-based training program. Just before his arrival, two VNIO doctors from the trauma/oculoplastics department returned from a six-month ORBIS-funded oculoplastics fellowships in the United States. The two doctors were eager to continue their training with Dr. Cepela.

Six patients qualified for tumor removal at the time, but VNIO had only enough equipment for one operation. Because Phuong was deemed the best teaching case, she was selected.

After a full morning of surgery and a few days recovering in the hospital, Phuong was released. Not only was Phuong’s tumor successfully removed and her eyesight restored, but several Vietnamese doctors learned how to perform the procedure on their own. Now others like Phuong could have an orbital tumor removed in their home country.

One year later, a new and optimistic Phuong emerges

A year after her eye surgery, Phuong is a changed woman. No longer worried about losing her job or her sight, Phuong is starting to come out of her shell.

Phuong with her grandmother

Whereas a year ago Phuong perceived herself as ugly and unlovable, she now feels calm, healthy and happy with her appearance. Although she reports no steady boyfriend as yet, her grandmother is quick to point out that many boys are vying for Phuong’s attention.

When asked about her dreams for the future, Phuong offers no personal aspirations. Instead, she dreams of a world in which everyone needing ophthalmic care can receive it.

“I wish Dr. Cepela good health so that he can return to Vietnam many times to teach more doctors new ways of caring for their patients,” she said. “My dream is that all patients like me can get treatment.”  

You can help

Phuong’s treatment wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of people like you. Please give generously so that others may see.