November 16, 2004

A sight for weak eyes

Ivanhoe Broadcast News

Ann Arbor, MI (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- There are about 35,000 corneal transplants performed every year in the United States. But they don't always work, and when they do, they don't always last. Now, a new option is available for when corneal transplants are just not enough.

Beverly Helmboldt has traveled a long way for her big day tomorrow. "I have no sight in my right eye and I have very little sight in my left eye, and if I do not have this surgery, they have done all that they can do for me here," she says.

Helmboldt calls it her last-chance surgery. She's had six corneal transplants on the eyes that have failed her all her life. "I am hoping that this will give me some vision and let me get back to some of the things that I have not been able to do."

Ophthalmologist Shahzad Mian, M.D., says corneal transplants don't always work on patients who need them. An improved surgery called keratoprosthesis, which uses a plastic implant instead, may be the answer.

"It is a plastic window that we are placing in the eye. It remains clear. So patients can see through it, and it can provide a great source for improving vision for these patients where other procedures are not working," Dr. Mian, of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, tells Ivanhoe.

The procedure is already FDA approved, but with improvements in the last few years, it's now 80-percent successful.

Dr. Mian says, "I'm very excited and very hopeful that these kinds of procedures can help give some hope to these patients where there is no vision potential otherwise."

Helmboldt hopes tomorrow's surgery is her last. She says, "I'm looking forward to seeing my yard. My son put in a new deck and a new gazebo, and I am anxious to see that and some flowers that I've never seen." It will take a few days to know if it worked, but Helmboldt thinks this time, luck is on her side.

The procedure is offered at about a dozen centers across the country.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com.

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Update: Luck was on Helmboldt's side the day we met her. The surgery worked, and she finally got the chance to see her new garden.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Betsy Nisbet
Kellogg Eye Center
University of Michigan
1000 Wall St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 647-5586
bsnisbet@umich.edu