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Artificial Cornea Transplant
It has been estimated that up to 10 million people in the world suffer corneal blindness. Corneal blindness exists when the rest of the eye functions fully, and the cornea is the only part of the eye needed to restore sight. It may be caused by an accident or from various diseases that damage the front of the eye.
Currently there are only 100,000 corneal transplants performed each year worldwide due to the lack of access to donor tissue, which has been described as an international crisis in public health. Additionally, many of these donor transplants are rejected by the host body or simply do not work.
Even when successful, patients have to stick to a lifetime regimen of multiple drugs and drops to ensure the health of the eye remains.
For more than 200 years, scientists have tried to create an artificial cornea that would fill this void and solve many of the issues donor tissue may experience.
Finally, there was a breakthrough – the AlphaCor Artificial Cornea.
The AIphaCor™ Artificial Cornea was developed at the Lions Eye Institute in Perth, Australia, and is designed to replace diseased or damaged corneas or failed human transplants. Its dimensions, flexibility and optics allow it to be implanted and perform in a similar manner to a donor corneal graft. The device finally provides a viable alternative for patients who have rejected human cornea tissue transplants and have no other options to improve or regain vision.
Dr. Francis W. Price, Jr. of the Price Vision Group successfully performed the first artificial cornea transplant in Indiana on an 85 year-old male patient.
According to Dr. Price: "AlphaCor is made of a biocompatible polymer that precludes the need for immunosupressant therapies usually required with human donor tissue. The artificial cornea looks like a clear donor corneal graft with a visible spongy rim. The patient's own cells grow into this outer rim and hold it in place, allowing the eye to function normally. It is soft and flexible."
On the benefits of AlphaCor, Dr. Price states that: "One of the benefits of the artificial cornea is that patients no longer have to rely on a regimen of drugs taken over the course of their lives. The success rate of corneal transplants has increased markedly over the last 40 years, but there are some situations where human donor transplants don't work. AlphaCor fills this void. The device is a huge step forward for people with corneal blindness who have rejected human tissue or who live in areas where corneal tissue is not readily available. In addition, the artificial cornea only requires one eye drop medication taken daily post-surgery."
The surgeons of Price Vision Group now use the Boston K-Pro artificial cornea (also referred to as the Dohlman-Doane). It was developed at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, MEEI, Boston. This device was approved for use in the United States in 1992.
More on Dr. Price
Dr. Price is medical director of the Cornea Research Foundation of America and was the first Indiana surgeon to be accredited to implant the AIphaCor cornea, the first internationally approved artificial cornea implant.
For more information on this revolutionary procedure, please contact Price Vision Group at 800-317-3937
