Emirati girl got her vision back after a congenital corneal opacity at into Barraquer Eye Hospital UAE
A successful corneal transplant operation was performed for an eighteen-month-old Emirati girl, who was born with a cyst over her left eye, which led to continuous loss of vision. However, high professionalism and appropriate diagnosis restored sight to the child’s eye, which is in excellent health and is recovering quickly.
In February this year an 18-month-emarati girl was brought into Barraquer Eye Hospital with a large congenital cyst over her left eye. She was attended to by Dr. Hernan Martinez Osorio, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist at Barraquer Eye Hospital. As per Dr. Muhsen Samaan, medical director at Barraquer Eye Hospital, U.A.E. “The child had this cyst since birth and when she was brought to the hospital, the size of the cyst was 5.3 mm which meant more than 50% of her vision was blocked in her left eye. Moreover because of this congenital cyst her natural cornea was also opacified as well. The cyst was affecting her visual development and her general lifestyle in the future.”
The cornea is a fine transparent layer, or we can say it’s a window to the eyes, that covers the eyeball, in front of the iris and the pupil. With a damaged cornea images often appear blurry and unclear, which was the case in this 18-month-old child since her birth. If left untreated it could have led to deep lazy eye (amblyopia). In general, living with partial vision can lead to daily challenges in performing basic day to day functions. However, in a child who has such a condition it can have severe effect on the child’s development thereby affecting the entire future life of the child.
After a running a few tests and a thorough investigation by Dr. Hernan Martinez Osorio, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist and the medical team at Barraquer Eye Hospital a Corneal Transplant was recommended. This meant that the child had to go through a complex surgical procedure under general anaesthesia. Dr. Muhsen Samaan, medical director at Barraquer Eye Hospital, U.A.E. continues saying, “Corneal transplant is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue. These healthy corneal tissues are generally shipping from a corneal bank around the world. This specific cornea was brought from a cornea bank in the U.S.A. This was a complex case as it involved removal of the congenital cyst, partial removal of the existing cornea and then replacing it with the new one. Also, this required a highly specialized team which included paediatric ophthalmic surgeons, paediatric anaesthesiologist, and a corneal transplant specialist. Also, in paediatric ophthalmic cases the preoperative and post operative care is different as compared to adults. Hence extra care and precautions need to be taken by the parents and the medical team involved.”
On February 17th the healthy cornea was brought in and was replaced in less than 24 hours. The surgery went on for about 2 hours where a multi-disciplinary team of doctors and medical team were involved. Post-surgery RN was asked to stay in the hospital with her parents for a one day before successfully discharging her on 18th February.
The Family Expressed their happiness at the success of the operation and their gratitude to the medical team who performed the operation
Dr. Muhsen Samaan, added, “The child’s vision will continue to improve gradually following her surgery. Her transplanted cornea has about a 12-month watch period, and she would be under our constant care and attention.”
