Great success and hope: Patient Julien M, who underwent surgery last November 10 at the University Hospital of Montpellier, regained his sight in his right eye, while his cornea was damaged by a series of infections caused by herpes. This morning he had a full vision: 10! Relief after the vicissitudes that necessitated a second visit to the compound, on 11 November. Professor Dane, who installed Israel’s revolutionary corneal prosthesis in a clinical trial, remains cautious.
The eyelid is still puffy, and the eye is sensitive to light. But Julian M, 38, from the Bordeaux area, has regained the sight in his right eye he lost over the years after a succession of keratitis. It was replaced on November 10 by an artificial cornea, which was invented in Israel, after it had been damaged. Professor Vincent Daine, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Montpellier, realized judicial intervention With the help of his colleague Fanny Babu, this was the fifth in the world (three in Israel and one in Paris) as part of a clinical trial allowing two French centers to practice, and seven operations are scheduled in Montpellier before the end of 2022.
This Tuesday morning, he has a 10/10, unheard of with a corneal transplant
“He regained sight 5 tenths on Monday, and this Tuesday morning, he has 10/10, unheard of with a corneal transplant, it’s promising.”Notes Professor Dane who states that “It will take a year to consolidate the result.” “It’s like I’ve been underwater for years, and there I found my own oxygen”For his part, he motivates the operated patient, who must go home at the end of the week, before CHU’s ophthalmology team follows him rigorously.
Raising awareness through a TV show
Face “Real life ups and downs” and the unknown New surgical devices.Julian M. However, he underwent a second operation on November 11: “It was very stressful because there was a lot of waiting. We had to put the cornea back in, tighten the points and do cataract surgery in this eye due to successive infections, as it wasn’t an emergency at first, but it prevented the device from putting it in place”, says Professor Dayne, who hopes to operate on a second patient in January or February.
The candidate will be selected strictly: “We must be very attentive to the inclusion criteria,” Vincent Daine, who remembers that the device is not for people with AMD, “is not the retina,” insists.
“became unlivable”
Julien M., who has been followed up at Purdue University Hospital, has come to the end of current treatments, at a standstill, and “highly motivated” : “My eyesight has been regressing since I was 23, and this phenomenon worsened for a year. I saw only a glimmer. The lasers and injections that were given to me gave nothing, I became unlivable, I poured myself a glass and the water was flowing nearby “It explains thirty things. “Because of the eyes, side effects, headaches and hypersensitivity to light, we were no longer able to go outside, even if only to ride a bike and go to the beach,” his companion recalls.
I live again, but I don’t plan long term
Julian regained hope thanks to the media: “I watched a program talking about this prosthesis, I called the Israeli company that directed me to the Montpellier University Hospital. So, I doubled down on the opportunity! I saw again, but I do not plan for the long term, I know we are in a clinical trial. ”
