Maculopathies: a national day to remember the paradox of missed cures
It is a condition that affects around two million Italians and, if not diagnosed and treated with surgical timing and innovative drugs, leads straight to low vision and blindness
by Massimo Ligustro*
On the morning of 21 May next, we will cross the threshold of the Chamber of Deputies for an appointment that marks a point of no return in the protection of the right to sight in Italia. On the initiative of the Honourable Ilenia Malavasi, we will present the path towards the establishment of the National Day on Maculopathy. This is an achievement that I proudly claim as President of the Macula ETS Committee, but which must not be considered a point of arrival, but rather a necessary weapon of pressure against a system that too often forgets its most fragile citizens.
Maculopathy is not a 'second-class disease'. It is a condition that affects around two million Italians and which, if not diagnosed and treated with surgical timing and innovative drugs, leads straight to low vision and blindness. At my side in the Chamber I will have the scientific societies AIMO and GOAL, because ours is not just a battle for civilisation, but a technical request: we need clear paths, access to the most advanced drugs and, above all, certain timescales.
However, while the doors of the institutions are opening in Rome, on the ground the signals coming in are alarming and contradictory. I cannot help but look with deep concern at what is happening in my own region, Liguria. We had started with the best of premises: Liguria was the first region in Italy to break down barriers, eliminating the co-payment for diagnostic and therapeutic services. It was a sign of civilisation that seemed to set a course for the whole country.
Today, however, that model is in danger of turning into an empty shell. What value is exemption from the co-pay fee if the patient cannot book a fundamental examination such as OCT except at special times or during short targeted campaigns? What is the point of promising free treatment if waiting lists have become endless, making timely access to services impossible, because ophthalmologists have difficulty prescribing the most innovative and effective drugs? For a maculopath, time is sight. A delay of a few months is not a bureaucratic inconvenience: it is irreversible biological damage.
The Ligurian paradox is even more jarring if we think of the top management of the regional administration. President Marco Bucci has never made a secret of his personal battle against diabetes and the resulting maculopathy. If even those who lead the region are living the burden of this pathology on their own skin, how is it possible that the Ligurian healthcare operating machine has jammed so critically? If an experienced leader who is aware of the seriousness of the situation cannot guarantee his fellow citizens what he himself knows to be vital, it means that the system needs a profound shake-up.
