News from Military Hospital 108 said that the hospital has just successfully performed two corneal transplants, bringing miraculous light to two patients. It seemed that the light had gone out, but a miracle came to them.
A male patient (born in 1974, in Nghe An) suffered an injury to his left eye 33 years ago, leaving a thick scar in the center of the cornea, accompanied by cataracts, and very poor vision.
Corneal transplant is the only solution, but patients have had to wait for many years without a source of donor corneas.
Another case is another male patient (born in 1955, in Phu Tho) who has had endothelial keratitis for many years and has received many rounds of drug treatment but has not recovered.
According to the patient, for a long time the left eye had very blurred vision, was often red, swollen, sore, sore, and had lots of tears, significantly affecting his life.
Corneal transplant team for a patient performed at Military Hospital 108. Photo of the Hospital
Doctors at Military Hospital 108 diagnosed the left eye with puffy cornea and cataract, and prescribed a corneal transplant. However, the patient has had to wait 3 years because there is no donated cornea.
The cornea donor for the above two patients was a man (34 years old, in Phu Tho) who was brain dead due to a traffic accident. After receiving advice and understanding that organ donation can save many lives, the patient’s family agreed to donate tissues and organs after the patient passed away.
Immediately after being notified by the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center, Military Hospital 108 urgently came to take 2 corneas and conducted 2 consecutive cornea transplant surgeries combined with cataract surgery for two people. sick. The results were better than expected.
On the 4th day after surgery, the grafts were clear, the vision after corrective lenses reached 2/10 and both patients were discharged from the hospital on the 5th day after the transplant with great joy.
Being able to live in full light is something Mr. B could never have imagined in his dreams. Mr. B shared that it was like being born again, able to continue unfinished projects, work hard and shoulder responsibilities for the family.
Dr. Nguyen The Hong, Ophthalmology Department, Military Hospital 108 – the person who directly performed corneal transplant surgery on 2 patients, these are more complicated patients than usual because they require corneal transplant surgery. Suitable for cataract lens removal and artificial lens placement.
In Vietnam, not many medical facilities can successfully implement the same technique.
According to Dr. Hong, corneal transplant is like a miracle that helps patients find the light source for their eyes. Corneal transplants have a low rejection rate and the process of using anti-rejection drugs is not as complicated and expensive as transplanting other organs.
In particular, the recovery process is quite fast, after only about 1 week after transplantation, the patient can return to a light work and daily life.
“After being discharged from the hospital, corneal transplant patients are given medication for treatment and make regular long-term follow-up appointments. Complying with treatment and coming back for check-ups on time is very important to be able to detect complications early. as well as helping corneal grafts have long-term stability.
The patient needs to come back for a check-up immediately if there are signs: eye pain, red eyes, decreased vision… because these can be signs of complications of infection, glaucoma or graft rejection that would otherwise occur. Untimely treatment can cause damage to the graft,” Dr. Hong advised.
Dr. Hong also shared that currently, the need for corneal transplants in our country is very large due to many different diseases (birth defects, injuries, burns, infections…) but the source of donated corneas is very scarce. due to psychological, cultural, legal factors…
“With the spirit of “giving is forever”, each of us needs to better understand and support organ tissue donation after death as a noble cause, bringing life and light to many others.” , Dr. Hong said.