We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Patients are the centre and the core of our system. We are professionals committed to quality care and our organizational structure breaks down the traditional boundaries between departments and professional groups, with an exclusive model of knowledge areas.
Would you like to know what your stay at Vall d'Hebron will be like? Here you will find all the information.
The commitment of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to innovation allows us to be at the forefront of medicine, providing first class care adapted to the changing needs of each patient.
Uveitis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye, the uvea, and can affect only the ocular and periocular region or it may be associated with systemic diseases. The aetiology of this clinical picture is very varied and includes trauma, infection, previous eye surgery, systemic inflammatory disease and others.
In this Section, we have access to all the testing required to diagnose and manage these conditions, from exclusively ocular tests, such as wide-field retinography, autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography, campimetry, etc., to extraocular testing in close relation with other specialties across the hospital.
Integrated monitoring of patients with glaucoma, from diagnosis at the GP surgery/hospital to surgical treatment, where required.
Our Section deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all pathologies affecting the ocular surface, whether inflammatory, infectious, dystrophic, traumatic, tumour-related or degenerative.
Within the Department, we have the most up-to-date complementary tests for diagnosing ocular surface pathologies: specular microscopy, pachymetry, state-of-the-art topography (Pentacam, Cassini), high-resolution anterior segment OCT, etc.
The Ophthalmology Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital offers integrated care to all those with conditions that affect eyes and eye attachments. We act as a national reference in various ophthalmological pathologies, attending patients from both Catalonia and the rest of Spain. This care work is complemented by important teaching and research activity, which allows us to remain at the forefront of our specialty.
The aim of the Ophthalmology Department is to put all the material and human resources at our disposal into improving the eye health and quality of life of our patients.
The Ophthalmology Department's activity is conducted at various locations, depending on the different care activities, all of which are coordinated and directed by Dr José García-Arumí, Head of Department:
The Ophthalmology Teaching Unit at Vall d'Hebron Hospital has several decades of experience in academic training, both formal and continuous, in the subject of Ophthalmology in the degree in Medicine and in the training, via MIR (internal residency), of doctors specialised in ophthalmology.
Ophthalmology training itinerary
"Ophthalmology is defined as the medical and surgical specialty related to the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders and diseases".
"Ophthalmology specialists attend to patients with ocular pathology. Their competencies include the study, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of eye conditions".
he training of resident specialists in ophthalmology requires a special mention in this section, as it is one of our Department's priorities. To this end, we have a teaching structure based on each resident having a tutor, who is responsible for accompanying the resident during the four years of training. The ratio is one tutor for every 3-4 residents. They are responsible for ensuring the resident integrates into the Department, resolving any problems that may arise during the residency and acting as a means of communication between the various attending physicians, the Department Head and the resident. Tutors meet periodically with the residents they tutor, the other tutors in the Department and ultimate teaching leads (the Department Head and the Teaching Director). This is all geared towards achieving the best training profiles for our residents, so that by the end of the residency they are prepared to perform their professional role within the specialty with the utmost professionalism.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease affecting the central nervous system. The immune system reacts against the body’s myelin, a substance that covers the neurones and that transmits nerve impulses. This reaction causes them to slow and be interrupted. MS is a degenerative disease and the second most common cause of neurological impairment in young people (20-40 years old). Neither the cause nor any cure have yet been discovered.
Although the cause is still unknown, the immune system is understood to react in a way that damages the body’s myelin. Loss of myelin causes alterations to brain function, the spinal cord or the optic nerve, and may cause the loss of neuronal tissue. Long term, it can also directly destroy the neurones themselves.
Areas where myelin is lost, called “lesions”, or “demyelinated plaques” appear as hardened areas in nervous tissue. These lesions can appear in multiple locations in the brain, the spinal cord or the optic nerve.
There are multiple symptoms that can appear in two contexts: in the form of specific episodes and/or with increasing disability.
Flare-ups are periods of clinical changes lasting more than 24 hours and that tend to diminish with time, although in some cases there may be lasting effects. If the disease progresses, however, then symptoms appear gradually and accumulate fairly progressively and slowly. Some people only suffer a period of flare-ups, in others the disease is only progressive, and for others it may become progressive following a period of flare-ups.
Depending on the areas affected, symptoms can include:
Balance and coordination may also be affected, as well as urinary function and sexual function.
The number of cases of multiple sclerosis is on the increase worldwide, and has reached a figure of 230 in every 100,000 people in some regions. In Spain, its prevalence is around 100 cases for every 100,000 people. 2.3 million are estimated to be affected around the world, of whom 45,000 were diagnosed in Spain and 7,500 in Catalonia. It is more common in women; two to three women are diagnosed with MS for every man affected. It is usually diagnosed in young adults. Although genetic factors do play a role, it is not considered an inherited disease. Studies show that the increase in cases diagnosed could be due to improvements in diagnostic methods and the quality of epidemiological studies, but also due to the increased risk posed by environmental factors. Vitamin D deficiency is currently associated with the disease.
Diagnosis is complex and carried out by studying the patient's medical history, neurological testing, MRI scan, lumbar puncture and evoked potentials.
Treatment for multiple sclerosis is divided into treating the cause and treating the symptoms.
Treating the cause is based on administering drug treatments orally, endovenously or subcutaneously to try to slow the progression of the disease. Nowadays, a series of drugs of varying efficacy, safety and tolerability are available. The current challenge is to provide the right drug for the right patient; an approach known as “personalised” or “precision medicine”, in addition to quickly detecting patients who do not respond well to a given treatment.
Treating the symptoms: drug treatments are available for some symptoms but not others. A holistic approach to multidisciplinary rehabilitation is used where drug treatments are not available. This type of treatment has been shown to be effective at reducing the impact of the disease on patients’ social life and activities.
Although there are no specific recommendations to prevent the disease, a healthy lifestyle is important (healthy diet, not smoking, moderate exercise, etc.). This will encourage better brain health and can prevent the disease worsening.
Ophthalmology, General Hospital
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