New Medical Feat by Saudi Doctor: Single Cornea Restores Vision for Two Patients
Riyadh
A medical team from the Ophthalmology Department at King Fahd University Hospital (KFUH) in Dammam, Eastern Saudi Arabia, led by Dr. Munirah Al-Afaleq, has successfully performed a complex surgical procedure for the first time in the university’s history. The operation involved using two patches from a single donor cornea to treat two different patients.
The procedure was performed under local anesthesia on a patient suffering from keratoconus, preserving the patient’s corneal endothelium. A 10-micron patch was then manually extracted from the donor cornea and transplanted into another patient suffering from corneal endothelial decompensation.
This operation is considered a partial corneal patch surgery that contributes to treating corneal blindness, allows for the treatment of a larger number of patients on the waiting list, and helps reduce financial costs on healthcare facilities.