Achieving the first successful corneal transplant has been one of my greatest achievements and a breakthrough in medical history. Very positive results were obtained with the patient:
- Discharge 3 hours after surgery: no hospital admission necessary.
- Rapid recovery
- Quick intervention: barely one hour
Vision recovery is the main result obtained and, in expert hands, it is not a difficult operation. Although there are some risks, the results are generally very positive.
This operation also provides a solution for patients suffering from keratoconus, a pathology in which the cornea deforms over time due to a genetic defect in its structure. Others who may benefit are subjects with corneal transparency loss, scars that affect vision, usually due to herpes, post-traumatic lesions or severe bacterial infections.
What does the operation consist of?
- Replacing the patient’s damaged cornea, through which he/she cannot see anything.
- The donor cornea (totally transparent) is sutured with 360° stitches and allows the lost vision to be restored.
In addition to surgical procedures, corneal pathologies are moving towards cell therapy and genetic and tissue engineering, medical resources and research on which HM Hospitales is working.
I am convinced that the future will go towards regenerative medicine, with the use of stem cells to recover the cornea. In this sense, I will participate in the first European study for certain corneal pathologies with stem cells, acting as the surgeon in charge of the interventions.