83-year-old blind man in Italy regained his sight with surgery

An 83-year-old blind man in Italy started seeing again with the transplantation of the entire ocular surface (cornea, part of the sclera and conjunctiva) from one eye to the other, with the method applied for the first time in the world.

APPLIED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WORLD

Director of the Molinette Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic in Turin and Retinal Surgery Specialist Prof. Michele Reibaldi and Prof. Vincenzo Sarnicola transplanted the entire ocular surface from one eye to the other in a 4-hour operation. In the operation, the entire surface of the patient's vlind left eye, was transplanted into the blind right eye, within the framework of a procedure applied for the first time in the world.

THE PATIENT STARTED TO SEE TWO WEEKS AFTER

In the statement of the hospital, Prof. Reibaldi and Prof. Stating that the surgery was extraordinary, Sarnicola said, "Two weeks after the operation, the patient regained his sight and can move without assistance. We are extremely excited and expect lasting success in the right eye. Because this eye was reconstructed with the patient's own tissues."

Prof. Sarnicola also adds, "The main innovation here is the transplantation of the expanded cornea to the entire eye surface, which includes the conjunctivo-scleral tissue."

'TO SEE WAS LIKE TO BE BORN AGAIN'

The patient, who had vision loss in his left eye 30 years ago and lost his sight in his right eye for the last 10 years, whose name has not been given, said, "Seeing my fingers and my hands was like being born again."

(AA)