Granada medics implant artificial cornea containing human cells for the first time
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 @ 9:52 AM
TWO hospitals in Granada have implanted an artificial cornea for the first time ever during a clinical trial on a 51-year-old man with a serious eye complaint.
Specialists from the San Cecilio and Virgen de las Nieves hospitals say the implant contains two types of different human cells and a bio-material based upon nano-technology.
The patient, José Luis, suffered a corneal fibrosis which meant he was only able to see light, not colours or objects – a condition for which there is no other cure or effective treatment at present.
Nine surgeons, led by ophthalmologists Dr Miguel González Andrades and Dr Santiago Medialdea operated on José Luis last week and, just two days after the procedure, he was already said to be experiencing relief from the pain and irritation he had been suffering in his eye as a result of his condition.
He will need to go for check-ups on a regular basis for the next two years.
One of 20 patients with serious corneal ulcers or opaque cornea were involved in the clinical trial, of whom five were initially picked out for the artificial implant, and the first of whom was José Luis.
Each one will be monitored for six weeks before the next person is operated on and, once their progress has been closely studied and deemed acceptable, the other 15 candidates on the trial will undergo the same procedure.
Five of them will have an artificial cornea and the rest will have a transplant of an amniotic membrane, which is a more conventional method of treating serious corneal ulcers.
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