An 83-year-old man, totally blind due to two pathologies, has partially recovered his sight thanks to theautotransplantation of the entire ocular surface – cornea, a part of the sclera and the conjunctiva – from one of your eyes.
The surgery – the first of its kind in the world – was performed at theMolinette hospital in Turin dal professor Michael Reibaldi (director of the Molinette University Eye Clinic) and by professor Vincent Sarnicolaone of the leading experts in the world of corneal surgery.
The elderly man had lost sight in his left eye for 30 years due to irreversible retinal blindness and in the last 10 years he had gone blind in his right eye due to a rare disease. The levy from the left eye, unrecoverable from a functional point of view, but with a good ocular surface, allowed him to see again.
EB, these are the patient’s initials, he said: “When I woke up and began to see the outlines of my fingers and hand, it was like being born again.”
Who operated
The 83-year-old was operated on by a team made up of the professor Michael Reibaldidirector of the university eye clinic of the Molinette hospital of the Città della Salute in Turin and expert retinal surgeon, and by professor Vincent Sarnicolapresident of the Italian Society of Corneal and Ocular Surface Stemality (SICSSO) and board member of the Italian Society of Ophthalmological Sciences (SISO), assisted by his collaborator Enrica Sarnicola.
What is the autotransplant?
The autotransplantalso called autologous transplant, is a surgical procedure in which the patient’s tissue or organ is harvested and then reimplanted in a different part of his body. This type of transplant is performed to replace damaged or diseased tissue with healthy tissue taken from the same patient, thus avoiding compatibility problems between donor and recipient.
Autotransplantation can be performed on a wide range of tissues and organs in the body, including skin, bones, muscles, tendons and blood vessels. This technique is often used to rebuild parts of the body damaged by trauma, disease or surgery.
Autotransplantation is a very safe procedure because the patient uses his own tissue, greatly reducing the risk of rejection. In addition, using your own fabric also reduces the risk of infection and the transmission of infectious diseases.
However, autotransplantation requires proper evaluation and planning by the surgeon to ensure the success of the procedure. The harvested tissue should be handled with care and the patient should receive adequate postoperative care to ensure proper healing.