Rudolf Guthoff

Rudolf Guthoff is senior professor for ophthalmology at the Rostock University. During this chairmanship at the Rostock University Eye Department he developed an academic and clinical partnership with the University of Kinshasa (DRC) and St. Joseph’s Hospital, a large teaching hospital which now is specialized in post graduate surgical training for ophthalmologists to be send to the interior of the country. During the last 20 years combined efforts of the Rostock and Kinshasa teams developed a center for pediatric ophthalmology focused on the treatment of children with bilateral cataract and their follow up to achieve optimal visual results. Primary bilateral lens implantation has become the method of choice. Over the last 20 years approximately 1000 children had been operated. Improvement is still necessary to insure optimal refractive care in order to allow maximal social integration.