They no longer recognized the faces of family members, they could not watch TV, they could not read or write: due to senile maculopathy, in front of their eyes there was a black hole, right in the middle of the visual field, which made a life impossible normal. Now, thanks to an iinnovative intervention carried out for the first time in southern Italythree Campania patients with advanced atrophic macular degeneration, will be able to see again with better central vision and lead a normal daily life.
The patients, two women and a man over 75 years of age, followed up at the medical retinal clinic of the UOC of ophthalmology of the Federico II Polyclinic of Naples directed by professor Ciro Costagliola – first center in southern Italy and among the first in the world to implant the advanced visual device – were successfully operated a week ago by professor Mario Bull. They are fine, but further clinical-functional evaluations will be needed to validate the promising results achieved. The interventions took place in the context of the relaunch of the ophthalmological activity of the Federico II university hospital of Naples which has already started with two simple operational units of ocular oncology and ophthalmoplasty unique in Campania, respectively directed by professor Fausto Tranfa what about the teacher Diego Strianese. To these will soon be added the activation of a high-level pediatric ophthalmology service and an ophthalmic emergency room.
The surgery, while being extremely innovative, is simple, completely similar to the standard one for cataracts, it is performed in day surgery and lasts 15-20 minutes. The patient is alert and conscious and the surgery is performed in local anesthesia. “The operation consists in inserting a mini-telescope with an overall diameter of 1 centimeter into the eye, through a device similar to a syringe, with an incision of about 7 millimeters that requires just 3 or 4 stitches – explains the Professor Toro – Similar to the propeller of a speedboat that lodges it in the lens sac, the miniaturized telescope functions as a magnifying glass that projects images seen in frontal vision and magnified by 2.7 times, on healthy and non-degenerate areas of the macula, reducing the impact of the blind spot and thus allowing the patient to see unrecognizable images earlier. “
«This type of treatment – he continued – is however reserved for patients with senile maculopathyand, candidates in the dry-atrophic form with slower evolution, which affects more than 800,000 people in Italy with about 50,000 new cases a year, for which no therapies are currently available. For the wet form, which is more aggressive and faster, a series of highly effective drugs have already been introduced. In the days following the surgery – the expert points out – patients will have to perform a rehabilitation path to accustom the brain to exploit that part of the retina that is still functioning. This is carried out during 6-8 sessions of visual rehabilitation during which the orthoptist explains to the patient how to best use the new system “.
It is a major success and i three interventions in Campania therefore constitute a new hope for all patients in the South. “We are very proud to provide patients with the highest quality care and access to technologically advanced treatment options – he comments. Ciro Costagliola, professor of diseases of the visual apparatus and director of the UOC of ophthalmology of Federico II – Epidemiological data suggest that in Campania alone about 3,000 patients could benefit from this new technology and we hope that many will be able to experiment with it to improve perception visual and regain autonomy. This result is the result of a collaboration with the team of anesthetists and nursing staff, of the great commitment of the general manager Anna Iervolinoof the medical director Emilia Anna Vozzella and of all the staff of the company management, of the farsightedness of the rector of our Frederick University professor Matteo Loritothe president of the school of medicine and surgery professor Maria Triassi and the director of the neuroscience department Professor Luigi Califano».
«We are committed to relaunching Federico II’s ophthalmological activity to combine research excellence with the efficiency and effectiveness of high-level assistance. We are already implementing new welcome and accessibility paths for patients, even for the little ones who need pediatric ophthalmology. Our goal is to guarantee not only timely and quality responses to Campania citizens, as happened with this extraordinary intervention that gives hope to many patients, but to represent a point of reference far beyond the regional borders “underlines the general manager of the university hospital. Frederick II Anna Iervolino.
«Federico II’s ophthalmology proposes an innovative solution for the treatment of atrophic macular degeneration using both a less invasive technology and a series of highly effective drugs. The course of the intervention was excellent and this makes the result of this application of great value for the significant population suffering from this pathology, for our university and for the medical school; the latter continues to demonstrate its ability not only to train highly skilled doctors who are also in demand abroad, but also to develop research that finds immediate application in terms of health care. Thanks to Professor Toro and Professor Costagliola for their efforts “, concludes the rector of the Federico II University Matteo Lorito.