Ophthalmology in Dubai

Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine and surgery that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. Medically trained doctors who care for patients who have eye and vision conditions are called ophthalmologists and are the only practitioners diagnosed and trained to treat all eye and vision problems. Their practice is very diverse, dealing with a wide range of issues and clinical conditions. Some of the most common conditions that they treat and manage include:

• Minor and major eye injuries
• Infectious eye disease
• Dry eyes
• Proptosis (bulged eyes)
• Glaucoma 
• Cataracts 
• Corneal pathology 
• Retinal problems, such as bleeding and detachment or tears of the retina
• Squints 
• Eye-related neurological problems
• Excessive tearing
• Intraocular inflammation
• Chronic eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

An ophthalmologist can offer a wide range of medical services, including surgical eye procedures. Some of the most common procedures that ophthalmologists perform are as follows:

• Eye examinations.
• Specialized tests, such as ultrasonography of the eyes and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
• Refractive surgery to correct vision, such as LASIK.
• Cataract surgery.
• Glaucoma surgery.
• Cancer treatment.
• Reconstructive surgery to repair birth abnormalities or trauma, such as crossed eyes.
• Neoplasm removal.
• Corneal transplants.
• Repairing torn or detached retinas.
• Strabismus surgery.
• Oculoplastic surgery (plastic surgery around the eye).
• Prescribing and fitting glasses and contact lenses.

How Long Should I Stay in Dubai?

Your length of stay depends on the type of treatment you undergo. In general, you may need to stay in Dubai for at least a week or to let your eyes recover and to attend follow-up checkups, where your ophthalmologist checks your condition and make sure that your eyes are healing properly. If everything is fine, they will allow you to leave for home. However, for some surgery, such as retinal detachment surgery, you should avoid flying until your eyes have fully healed. Therefore, it is best that you wait 3 to 4 weeks, sometimes even longer, before you travel home.

What's the Expected Recovery Time?

Recovery time depends on the type of surgery you underwent, your age, and overall health. It is generally recommended to rest your eyes for a few days. With LASIK, you may be able to return to work after a day. After a corneal transplant, you should wait for 2 to 3 weeks until you go back to work. 

What Aftercare is Required?

Your ophthalmologist will give you instructions to care for your eye after the procedure. It is crucial that you follow all of them to have a quick recovery and obtain optimum results. To keep the result or to prevent complications, you will need to make some lifestyle changes, such as avoid smoking and staying active. You also need to attend regular checkups, typically once a year, with your local eye doctor or your ophthalmologist in Dubai.

What's the Success Rate?

Thanks to the continuous advancement of ophthalmology, eye treatments, and surgeries are now highly successful and safe. For instance, the latest research of LASIK showed that it has a 99% success rate in achieving 20/40 vision or better, whereas the success rate of corneal transplant is as high as 90%. However, it is important to be aware of the risks and side effects of eye treatments and surgeries, such as dry eyes, temporary visual problems, overcorrections, under correction, astigmatism, regression, and, very rarely, vision loss.

Are there Alternatives?

For some eye problems, you may be able to go to an optometrist as an alternative. However, if your conditions need to be treated through surgery, your optometrist will refer you to an ophthalmologist.

Ophthalmology in and around Dubai

About Dubai

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the UAE and it is the second largest in size and has the biggest population of over 3 million people. The population of the UAE lives there tax-free as there is no VAT on food or consumer goods, and it is certainly one of the reasons why a large number of expats are attracted to this country and 84% of the population are non-nationals. Dubai prides itself upon the fact that it is one of the swiftest growing economies in the world. The tourism industry is one of the principal strategies of the Dubai government to keep foreign cash flowing into Dubai.

The private sector has been building state of the art facilities and also caters to medical tourism. Dubai has two healthcare free economic zone for hospitals and medical facilities. The industry consists of 35,000 medical professionals from 110 nationalities. There is a 12-year master plan, which includes adding 40 healthcare and three new hospitals.

The country aims to provide a 1000-bed medical care unit catering to inpatients and outpatients, with five-star hotel facilities and varied mélange of services. By the year 2020 Dubai Health Authority (DHA) plans to attract 500,000 annual international medical tourists to the city, 

Hospitals such as the NMC Specialty Hospital, Medeor 24x7 Hospital, Medicare Hospital, Aster Hospital are some of the more popular ones in the City. Expats from all over the world turn to Dubai for solutions to address ailments from non-invasive beauty treatments to surgeries, depression, and mood disorder treatments. The most popular treatments are Orthopaedics, Dermatology and Ophthalmology, Plastic surgery, and Aesthetic Practices and surgeries. It is also attracting Medical tourism from around the world due to:

• Dubai follows strict quality protocols and has specialists from all over the world working in its hospitals.
• The best medical technology is available and is on par with any world-class facility.
• The government and other stakeholders are working continuously to establish a world-class healthcare system in Dubai.
• Large investments from the government and private sector in the medical tourism industry.

Popular Areas in Dubai

Dubai is a paradise for shoppers. You can shop in the souks that are dotted around the city or visit the stylish shopping malls. From spices to the latest high street fashion and gold jewelry, you can buy everything at reasonable prices including electronic gadgets as the Vat rate is only 5%.

Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and Burj Al Arab in Dubai which is the most luxurious hotel in the world is located in this building. You can buy a ticket to its observation deck located on the 124th floor from where you can see the panoramic view of the city. If you want to experience the tradition and history of the city, there are numerous museums to visit. If you love adventure, desert safaris will take you on some amazing activities that include dune bashing, camel rides, sand boarding and you will get to taste the local cuisine in the middle of the desert.

IMG Worlds of Adventure is the largest indoor theme park in the world. The IMG Worlds of Adventure is very big and is the size of 28 football fields. High and fast roller coasters, fine dining, and retail outlets are all in abundance within this theme park.

Weather and Climate in Dubai

Dubai, being a desert city, is hot for most of the year. August is the hottest month and January is the coldest one. The temperatures can range between 24 °C in winter to 45 °C in summer and humidity is very high in Summer. Dubai winters are from November to April and this is the best time to visit Dubai. 

Getting around in Dubai

Dubai has one of the busiest airports in the word and the airport is an important transit hub between Asia and Europe. Most of the airlines that fly to Asia, connect through Dubai airport that is known for its luxury and has many concourses and terminals and there are interconnecting metro trains between the terminals.

Dubai is famous for establishing the first metro service in the entire Arabian region and it has been investing and expanding the train network over the past few decades.

Port Jebel Ali is the biggest man-made harbor in the world and is a major point of entry to the country. Port Rashid is Dubai’s second major port. Apart from the major ports, it also has local boats and ferries that help people travel between different parts of the city. It has an excellent road network that connects to all the other Emirati cities. As Sharjah is the nearest Emirati city to Dubai, it has good public bus service connections to Sharjah. There are numerous taxi services and buses with reasonable fares, available for tourists to commute around the city.

Tourist Visas in Dubai

You can get a non-extendable visit visa or a tourist visa for 30 days or 90 days. Many job seekers use visitor visas to find work and convert their visitor visa to a work visa during their stay. Citizens of GCC countries and the European Union, USA, and the UK, Canada, Russia, China, Australia, and many other countries can get a visa on arrival. However, all passports must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry.

Additional Information

1. Local Currency- AED or Arab Emirate Dirham (Dhs) is the local currency.
2. Money & Payments -You can exchange money in numerous money exchangers. Major currencies that are traded in Dubai are Pounds, Euros, Australian and American Dollars. Most places accept credit cards and international debit cards for payments, Yet, it is better you carry some local currency with you while visiting small shops or traveling in taxis. ATMs are also available from where you can withdraw the local currency. In fact, many ATMs are free in Dubai and do not incur any banking charges.
3. Tipping is not compulsory, but it is customary to tip in restaurants and hotels. Tipping anywhere between 10 and 15% of your bill is about right. As taxis are cheap, people even tip the drivers for good service.
4. Arabic is the official language and English is the most spoken language here. People from Asian countries living in Dubai speak Hindi, Urdu, Persian.
5. The official religion of the country is Islam. It is, however, the most liberal city in the Gulf region. You must be careful to respect the local traditions and wear simple conservative clothes.
6. Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha are two major religious holidays. Islamic New Year, Prophet’s birthday, UAE’s national day, and Commemoration Day are the other significant holidays. The religious festivals are dependent on the sightings of the moon and may occur on different days every year.