Abu Dhabi: A Saudi doctor was able to perform a rare surgery on a baby who had suffered from opacities in the cornea since birth by implanting stem cells in his cornea using the ‘Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation’ technique - a novel surgical technique for the treatment of unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency.
Dr. Mahmoud bin Jameel Shweil, assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, and a consultant ophthalmologist, explained that the baby was the youngest in the world who underwent this complex operation using the technique. The baby recovered after the operation.
Modern technology
He added the case, published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, was an achievement for the Saudi doctor in the field of eye and corneal surgeries.
Dr. Shweil indicated that this technique was applied earlier to end the suffering of a Canadian woman in her 60s, whose vision deteriorated for more than two years to a great degree.
She visited many hospitals and centers specialising in ophthalmology, but her condition was very difficult, and after conducting the necessary tests and subjecting her to this modern technology she recovered and returned to normal life.
