Morocco is a hub that attracts patients from neighboring African countries, and in Casablanca, I work at a private clinic in the city center: the Nour Ophthalmology Clinic. "Nour" in Arabic means “light,” a beautiful metaphor for what we do.
See Dr. Sara Idmane's photos of her life in Morocco.
Our clinic is well-equipped with a range of diagnostic tools, including visual field, ocular ultrasound (A, B, and UBM), IOL Master 700, specular microscopy, topography, OCT (anterior, posterior segments, OCT Angiography), wide-field angiography, various lasers, and a complete surgical platform with phaco machines and vitreoretinal surgery equipment. The only missing component is equipment dedicated to refractive surgery.
I am an ophthalmologist specializing in cornea, cataract, refractive surgery, and medical retina.
Here is a day in my life:
6 a.m.
The alarm rings. The rhythm of our biological clocks gives the body a surge of energy to kickstart a new day. I have my coffee with my dear husband, Khamaiily Mehdi, an assistant professor and also an ophthalmologist. Knowing that the day will be long and that we will only reunite in the evening, every shared moment counts.
6:30 a.m.
I hit the road for work from the outskirts in Dar Bouazz, a small coastal community 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) from Casablanca. My commute is nearly an hour, longer than others’, but my home is tranquil near the Atlantic Ocean.
7:30 a.m.
I settle in at a Dunkin Donuts near work to have my breakfast, check emails, submit works for upcoming conferences, and create my to-do list for the day.
8:30 a.m.
I arrive at the clinic, head to my consultation room, and review the day's schedule, ensuring there have been no last-minute changes. My first appointment is with a 7-year-old girl undergoing amblyopia treatment. Dynamic and full of curiosity, she bombards me with questions: “What do I have? Why can’t I see? What is that machine?” We swap seats so she can see my eyes through the slit lamp, and her excitement is palpable. She confides that her dream now is to become an eye doctor, a revelation that warms my heart.
In cases of amblyopia in children, I initiate occlusion therapy following orthoptic assessment and subsequently entrust their follow-up to orthoptists for close monitoring. If progress is satisfactory after two months, I extend their follow-up intervals. For cooperative patients, I suggest to parents adding neurostimulation exercises during occlusion to maximize their chances of visual recovery.
I see patients of various ages, excluding infants, whom I am fortunate to refer to my colleague specializing in pediatric ophthalmology. Generally, I see patients over 80 years old are affected by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and come in for intravitreal injections and follow-up. Unfortunately, I encounter a significant number of diabetic retinopathy cases. I recently treated a 20-year-old female patient with intravitreal injections for diabetic macular oedema and ongoing laser treatment for proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Each patient is unique, and I see a variety of pathology, from new neurologic conditions to glaucoma. I typically see around eight patients in this two-hour session.
With morning clinic complete, I move on to surgery.
10:30 a.m.
Surgical procedures at the clinic include cataract surgery, cross-linking for a young patient with keratoconus, trans-scleral diode-laser, and pterygium excision using dehydrated amniotic membrane graft for a glaucomatous monophthalmic patient potentially requiring a filtering surgery. I average five surgeries a day, which I perform in an operating room (except for dehydrated amniotic membrane procedures) with local anesthesia. All surgeries go smoothly, thanks to my team.
At the end of the program, I visit families of the operated patients to reassure them and explain, with the help of preestablished guidelines, post-operative instructions to follow.
1 p.m.
I need a short break to recharge before starting the afternoon clinic and meet a colleague, using the opportunity to discuss cases and exchange opinions.
1:30 p.m.
Back in consultation (clinic) to follow up on patients enrolled in a cerebral neurostimulation program. Today, I see a 27-year-old lawyer with multiple sclerosis (MS) reporting improved visual quality and contrast sensitivity after 20 sessions of neurostimulation. I am interested in neurostimulation for macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and MS. This patient with MS has undergone primary visual cortex simulation sessions using Gabor patches for the past six months. His increased contrast sensitivity has resulted in improved visual quality.
I proceed with laser sessions, performing several panretinal photocoagulations for diabetic retinopathy, barrage laser photocoagulation in high myopia, and laser peripheral iridotomy for acute angle closure crisis. I do laser sessions two days a week, with an average of 8 to 10 patients. Today I move on to conducting ocular ultrasounds and UBM.
4 p.m.
I head to the conference room for a practical session with orthoptics students, whom I supervise during their internship. I teach twice a week at the university and oversee orthoptics students starting their internships from their second year onwards, supervising them during their clinic rotations. They are eager to learn about the different machines: OCT, topography, and the interpretation of imaging results.
5:30 p.m.
My workday concludes, and I return home. At dinner, my husband and I watch videos of our surgeries, give each other advice, and create reels for social media. Some may find being with someone in the same profession boring, but for me, it's a real career booster.
The videos my husband and I create simplify medical information by addressing questions from our patients. If a patient undergoing treatment for diabetic retinopathy expresses concerns about a neighbor losing vision after laser therapy, we clarify any misconceptions. Similarly, we address misconceptions, such as a patient's friend undergoing cross-linking for keratoconus expecting immediate vision improvement.
Using our Instagram handles eye.doc.Sarah and smeyecouple, we demystify medical information, drawing inspiration from questions, remarks, and often incorrect assumptions our patients make.
9 p.m.
I go to bed, exhausted but very satisfied, knowing that each day is an opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of my patients by preserving the precious sense that is vision.
About the author: Sara Idmane, MD, is an ophthalmologist specializing in cornea, cataract, refractive surgery, and medical retina. She also serves as a professor at the International University of Casablanca, Morocco, and is co-founder and general secretary of Young Ophthalmologists of Morocco.
An Ophthalmologist in Morocco