Features
Eye surgery restores vision in 'hopeless cases'
Ophthalmologists at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago
have performed four cornea replacements using a newly redesigned artificial
cornea, restoring sight in patients who had exhausted all other options.
Dr. Dimitri Azar, Field Chair of Ophthalmologic Research and professor and head of ophthalmology and visual sciences at UIC, led the team that performed the operations. He was assisted by Dr. Jose de la Cruz, a fellow in cornea and refractive surgery.
Azar and de la Cruz both worked with Dr. Claes Dohlman at Harvard who developed the artificial cornea.
In artificial cornea replacement, called keratoprosthesis, a plastic cornea
is anchored to a hole in a donated cornea, the clear, strong surface area
that allows light into the eye. The artificial cornea is necessary when
standard cornea transplants have failed, causing the implanted cornea to
become opaque or invaded by blood vessels. 
"Patients whose corneas are damaged by infection or injuries like chemical burns often have poor outcomes," de la Cruz said. "Many times, their physicians continue to attempt new transplants or give up entirely on restoring their vision, simply because there has been no other option."
L.C. Phillips, 53, of Chicago, one of the first two patients to receive the artificial cornea at UIC, had lost almost all vision in his left eye after an infection two years ago. Phillips had already had two failed cornea transplants.
"Because it was very likely that transplants would continue to fail, the keratoprosthesis was his only hope for restored vision," de la Cruz said.
"Since the December surgery, Phillips' vision has been restored to 20/50, and we expect it to continue to improve," Azar said. Phillips wears a special contact lens, which will need to be replaced every few months.
"It's a blessing to be able to see again," Phillips said.
Reporting by Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, UIC News Bureau
Learn more> UIC
News Bureau release on eye surgery; UIC
News Bureau release on Azar's LASIK research publish in the journal
Ophthalmology