Indiana Artificial Iris Surgeon

  Excerpt from Ocular Surgery News - August 2005 MORE »

  INDIANAPOLIS -- A 5-year-old New York City boy became the first child to receive an artificial iris in Indiana Tuesday. MORE »

  Paralympic Gold Medalist and Price Vision Group Patient Trischa Zorn. MORE »

We are happy to announce that Francis W. Price Jr., MD, of the Price Vision Group in Indianapolis, Indiana has been named the North American Medical Monitor for OPHTEC's US Clinical Study of Iris Reconstruction Lenses. This is the first such study in the US for these unique custom devices that are designed to treat patients with damaged eyes (irises) due to trauma, disease or congenital malformation. Currently, there are no FDA approved iris reconstruction lenses available in the US to treat these conditions. Dr. Price receives referrals from across the US to treat unique eye conditions. He has a tremendous amount of expertise and recognizes the potential value of an intraocular lens that will not only restore vision, but also offer a cosmetic benefit to patients. Dr. Price is well versed in conducting FDA clinical trials and has participated in numerous studies resulting in the availability of new ophthalmic products and treatments in the US.

BOY GETS ARTIFICIAL IRIS

By Mary McDermott

(Indianapolis-February 1, 2005) - A five-year-old New York boy has come to Indianapolis for a chance to dramatically improve his vision.

Michael Cruz was born with troubled eyes. He does not have any irises - the part that would usually be blue, brown, green or hazel. The iris controls the amount of light that enters the eye. It is a ring-shaped tissue with a central opening, which is called the pupil.

In a normal eye, the pupil will constrict in bright light and dilate in dimmer light. For Michael, light in an ordinary room is too bright to see clearly because his eyes can’t filter it.

"Kind of like coming out of a movie matinee in the bright sun -- you know how just devastating it is -- you can't keep your eyes open, you can't lift your head up. And that's the way these people are all the time from the time they're born. So Michael doesn't even realize what it's like not to be that way,” said Dr. Francis Price, eye specialist.

Soon, though, Michael should see the world with new eyes. An operation he had at St. Vincent Hospital Tuesday morning gave him an artificial iris. He's only the third child in the country to get such an implant.

"The artificial iris has a clear central area that's visual, and an outer area that's nine millimeters in diameter that's opaque. It comes in blue, green, or brown, and his family chose brown for him,” said Dr. Price.

It was all part of a clinical trial involving 112 people who received artificial irises. Dr. Price has performed nearly half of those procedures. He expects Michael to heal quickly and he hopes the implants eventually get federal approval for wider use.

"I think it's a tremendous asset for these people who have these conditions. It's just phenomenal. Now, not everybody has a dramatic response but most of the people have a really dramatic improvement,” said Dr. Price.

Michael received one artificial iris Tuesday. He is scheduled to get the other one in a few months. Click here for additional information.

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PATIENT PROFILE:  Trischa Zorn

Trischa received two artificial iris implants in an FDA Study which significantly improved her sight. Before surgery, Trish could only see objects that were three feet in front of her or closer. Since the procedures, her vision has improved to 20/150. Although not perfect, this is a significant improvement over her vision before either procedure. Dr. Price performed both of her surgeries. Dr. Price is the North American Medical Monitor for the FDA study for the artificial iris implant, and President of the Cornea Research Foundation of America. Zorn is currently studying law at Indiana University.

Trischa Zorn is a paralympic athlete competing in swimming.  Born with aniridia, the absence of an iris, Zorn was legally blind.  She also happens to be the most decorated Paralympian in the history of the games, winning 54 medals, 41 of them gold.  She was  also a 4-time All-American at the University of Nebraska and she was the first visually impaired athlete to earn a Division 1 scholarship. For more information about her surgery, click here.