Turin, 26 July (LaPresse) – For the first time in the world, a blind person has regained their sight from total blindness thanks to an eye-to-eye transplant. The extraordinary operation was carried out at the City of Health and Science in Turin. For the first time in the history of medicine, the team at the University Eye Clinic at Molinette Hospital, led by Professor Michele Reibaldi, has successfully carried out a complete autotransplantation of the anterior segment of the eye and the central part of the retina (the macula) from one eye to the other in the same patient. This exceptional operation has enabled Mrs Elena, aged 67, to regain her sight after more than five years of total blindness. The patient had completely lost her vision as a result of a very serious road traffic accident. The collision had caused irreversible damage to the optic nerve of her left eye, robbing her of her sight as light could no longer be transmitted from the eye to the brain, whilst leaving the eye’s structures intact. In contrast, her right eye, which was already affected by macular degeneration, had sustained such severe trauma that it had irreparably compromised the retina and the transparency of the cornea. The total destruction of the portion containing the stem cells made a standard corneal transplant entirely impossible, condemning the woman to blindness for years. This obstacle, hitherto considered insurmountable internationally, was overcome thanks to an insight by Professor Reibaldi. By utilising the healthy but non-functional tissues of the left eye, the doctors removed and transferred to the right eye an entire anatomical block comprising the cornea, the sclera, the conjunctiva and, for the first time in the world, the central portion of the retina (the macula). This biological ‘transplant’ has made it possible to reconstruct a functioning eye from the two compromised eyes.
Turin: Patient regains sight following eye-to-eye transplant – a world first
Turin, 26 July (LaPresse) – For the first time in the world, a blind person has regained their sight from total blindness thanks to an eye-to-eye transplant. The extraordinary operation was carried out at the City of Health and Science in Turin. For the first time in the history of medicine, the team at the University Eye Clinic at Molinette Hospital, led by Professor Michele Reibaldi, has successfully carried out a complete autotransplantation of the anterior segment of the eye and the central part of the retina (the macula) from one eye to the other in the same patient. This exceptional operation has enabled Mrs Elena, aged 67, to regain her sight after more than five years of total blindness. The patient had completely lost her vision as a result of a very serious road traffic accident. The collision had caused irreversible damage to the optic nerve of her left eye, robbing her of her sight as light could no longer be transmitted from the eye to the brain, whilst leaving the eye’s structures intact. In contrast, her right eye, which was already affected by macular degeneration, had sustained such severe trauma that it had irreparably compromised the retina and the transparency of the cornea. The total destruction of the portion containing the stem cells made a standard corneal transplant entirely impossible, condemning the woman to blindness for years. This obstacle, hitherto considered insurmountable internationally, was overcome thanks to an insight by Professor Reibaldi. By utilising the healthy but non-functional tissues of the left eye, the doctors removed and transferred to the right eye an entire anatomical block comprising the cornea, the sclera, the conjunctiva and, for the first time in the world, the central portion of the retina (the macula). This biological ‘transplant’ has made it possible to reconstruct a functioning eye from the two compromised eyes.
