Eye surgery first in Taranaki
A Taranaki man’s eyesight has been restored with a donor cornea and a ground-breaking corneal transplant surgery, the first in the region.
Previously, patients who needed a corneal transplant had to travel outside the region.
Peter Sole, who owns a trucking company, had the surgery during the first week of the lockdown.
He’d been waiting to have it done since November, so was pleased to get the call that a donor cornea was available.
‘‘I’m looking at the world through someone else’s eyes, it’s a gift. You have to think yourself lucky,’’ he said.
‘‘My sight has got better and better. It used to be kind of cloudy, now it’s just as good as my other eye.’’
His sight had been gradually deteriorating in one eye for the past few years, caused by a cloudy cornea, the normally clear window at the front of the eye.
The surgery was painless and went very well.
‘‘I went to the hospital about 8.30am and I was home by 1,’’ he said.
‘‘Because of the lockdown, there were not many staff members there, it was uncanny with nobody there.’’
The surgery was performed by New Plymouth eye surgeon Dr Albie Covello from the Taranaki Eye Centre, who recently returned to the region after completing specialist cornea and cataract training in North America.
In a statement, Covello said benefits of this new procedure over more traditional surgery included clearer vision and faster recovery times.
The Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) surgery uses advanced techniques that allow for a very small incision, requiring just one stitch afterward.
‘‘This type of transplant is incredibly delicate and fine, being only 1/10th the thickness of a human hair,’’ he said.
Many eye conditions can only be treated by using a donated cornea. About 300 to 400 people donate their eyes in New Zealand each year, but hundreds more are needed. People can register their wishes to become a donor on their driver licence.
For more information about transplants and the eye surgeries available in Taranaki, visit taranakieye.co.nz.