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Author of videos on the Youtube platform, Mr Beast – Jimmy Donaldson of his real name – is a real Internet star with these 130 million subscribers. He set himself a challenge: to finance 1,000 cataract operations, to enable a thousand people to receive treatment for free. What is cataract and how does it happen? We take stock.
The Internet can bring the best initiatives to life. The latest video from YouTuber MrBeast – real name Jimmy Donaldson – followed by 130 million subscribers is proof of this.
Operate a thousand people free of cataracts
He set himself the challenge of providing free treatment for a thousand people affected by cataracts. He was supported in this by an ophthalmologist, Dr. Jeff Levenson, a cataract specialist.
The Youtuber summarizes his challenge in a video published on January 28. We see him looking for patients suffering from this vision disorder, to offer them to have surgery at no cost.
A chance for these people, when we know the large sums that can reach the most common operations. To reach 1,000 patients, MrBeast was not limited to the United States but also financed operations in Jamaica, Indonesia, Honduras, Kenya and Brazil.
What is cataract?
Cataracts are caused by the development of opacities on the crystalline, the transparent lens that allows accommodation. These opacities prevent light rays from passing through, leading to a decrease in vision which can be very significant.
The only treatment is surgery. It consists of removing the lens that has become opaque and replacing it with an implant. It is estimated that cataract affects more than one person in five from the age of 65, more than one in three from the age of 75 and almost two out of three from the age of 85. Around the world, 200 million people would be affected.
The technique most often used is extracapsular lens extraction, which takes place in several stages: a small incision is made in the cornea and then the core of the lens is removed, leaving the capsule in place. A fairly quick gesture, since the operation generally lasts between 15 and 30 minutes.
This procedure is usually performed under local anesthesia by a method called phacoemulsification. The lens is broken into small pieces by ultrasound and then sucked out through a very small incision.
Healing is faster and the risk of complications lower. In almost all cases an implant is then introduced inside the capsule to replace the lens. Cataract surgery has become the most frequent surgical intervention in the elderly with 700,000 operations each year in France.
When should you operate?
It all depends on the evolution of the cataract. It is therefore up to the patient, helped and informed by his ophthalmologist, to decide on the moment of the intervention, depending on the discomfort felt.
The intervention often has beneficial effects on the quality of life of the affected patient. Complications exist but remain rare, the most common being the presence of opacities that can interfere with vision.
Generally, both eyes are operated on, not at the same time but a few weeks apart. The operation often remains the only solution because there is no prevention for this pathology.