Doctors in Turin performed a unique operation: 67-year-old Elena received a macula — the central part of the retina responsible for sharp vision — transplanted from one eye to the other. After several years of blindness, the woman was able to recognize her son and her dog Joe.
To restore the right eye, surgeons used healthy tissue from the left eye, despite damage to its optic nerve. In the right eye, the nerve had remained intact, but the retina and cornea were destroyed. The most difficult stage was the transplant of the macula, the area needed for reading and recognizing faces. Follow-up examinations showed that the tissue had taken, and vision was gradually returning.
The method is still experimental, but in the future it could help many people with severe eye injuries around the world. An important advantage is the use of the patient's own tissue: it is usually more likely to take and does not trigger immune rejection.
