Saturday, February 14, 2009

Vissum performed for the first time in Spain, an alternative to corneal transplantation.

- With this new technique, the recovery can be reduced from one year to one week

- It applies to 50% of patients who currently require a traditional cornea transplant

Medical teams and Dr. Gerrit Melles Vissum Ophthalmologic Corporation, led by Dr. Jorge Alió, have, this morning, three endothelial transplant surgery with an innovative technique in the world. The interventions have been conducted at the invitation of Vissum, Dr. Gerrit Melles, corneal surgeon and director of the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery, Rotterdam, the creator of this procedure and the eye bank of the technology necessary to perform this operation.

Dr Alió Dr Melles-right-left-for-intervention

This surgical technique, called Endothelial keratoplasty of the Descemet membrane (DMEK for short), is the transplantation of the endothelial membrane, which represents a revolution in these operations because it is not complete cornea transplant or his back, as at present.

Approximately half of corneal transplants are currently performed on patients who have suffered an endothelial failure, mainly due to a previous operation that, by its complications, has led to its destruction, either by trauma or endothelial dystrophy . Ultimately, this technique is applicable to half the cases of corneal transplantation, thus avoiding a much longer post, and getting the patient to have a better view. Plus, everything is done in a much more controlled environment, with a more secure technique.

Cornea with slider

In this sense, the post is fast, the patient after surgery, remains in the clinic two hours and then has to keep one or two days to rest in his home. It then conducts a review to verify that the transplanted layer was seated correctly.

According to Prof. Jorge Alió, Vissum medical director, "the difference is important because, until now, we are dealing with disease, although only the diseased endothelial layer, is the transplanting corneal tissue healthy. That means that transplants are a greater amount of tissue that interferes with the passage of light, recovering a little vision. "

However, with the technical DMEK was transplanted the single layer of tissue that is sick, so the surgery is more functional as there is no residual stromal tissue. The consequence is important: the patient recovers much more quickly and completely. Thus, a corneal transplant has a normal rehabilitation period for a year, while this technique is limited to rehabilitation for a week or two at most, "says Prof. Alió.

Another advantage worth noting is that the eyes cornea donors remain full, so that it can be used on another patient. Moreover, in the case of a rejection, which occurs in 18% of cases, the only thing replaced is the tissue where the endothelium. It is, says Dr. Jorge Alió, "a revolution because it can be transplanted for the first time the endothelial layer, which is a single-cell layer of cells that do not play along with the support they have is called basal membrane or Descemet membrane.

This is not an operation that requires a high-tech, but it requires a sophisticated technique of cultivation of donor tissue to be properly prepared, which requires it to be sent from the eye bank in Rotterdam.

This is the first time that the intervention with this innovative surgical procedure is performed outside of Holland. "None other than Dr. Melles has been able to develop this technology to take off the Descemet membrane and take it to the recipient eye," says Dr. Alió. The Dutch ophthalmologist and has operated at approximately one hundred patients in his country, but from today will be implemented in Spain through the Corporation Oftalmológica Vissum.

About VISSUM
Ophthalmologic VISSUM Corporation was founded in 2004 as a result of the union of six of the most prestigious in our country ophthalmologic centers. Is composed of the best medical, paramedical and research, with the most advanced technology to treat all of the different ocular pathologies: Pediatric Ophthalmology, Refractive Laser Surgery, cataracts or retinal disorders, among others.

Corporation Ophthalmologic VISSUM Centers is comprised of over 300 professionals, led by Prof. Dr. Jorge L. Alió, Professor of Ophthalmology, University Miguel Hernández. Most of these centers are certified to ISO-9001 and some of them even with the Joint Commission of the United States, such as Ophthalmological Institute of Alicante. Also, involved in numerous research projects in collaboration with the University Miguel Hernández (Elche) and the University of Alcalá (Madrid), among others.

Ophthalmologic VISSUM Corporation currently has more than 35 clinical centers specialized in Ophthalmology, located in eleven provinces, Alicante, Albacete, Murcia, Almeria, Gran Canaria, Madrid, Sevilla, Cádiz, Guadalajara, Segovia and Zaragoza in 2007 and has closed exercise with a turnover of 32.2 billion euros.

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