Tamil Nadu   

New lens implant restores vision by 30 to 40 per cent

R. Sujatha

James Dhanraj (left) with ophthalmologists Amar Agarwal of Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital and Issac Lipshitz of Israel who pioneered `telescopic intraocular lens'. — PHOTO: R.RAGU

CHENNAI: In a rare surgery, a 65-year-old former Indian Airlines engineer was fitted with a mirror-telescopic intraocular lens on his right eye that has helped him see despite his scarred retina. The patient, James Dhanraj, said, "My vision is 30 to 40 per cent better than it was before the surgery."

Israeli doctor Issac Lipshitz, who pioneered the concept, and Amar Agarwal performed the surgery at Agarwal's Eye Hospital on Wednesday. Since Mr. Dhanraj had developed cataract also, it had to be removed using the Microphakonit technique (of 700 micron cataract surgery) and Dr. Lipshitz implanted the mirror-telescopic intraocular lens. The method works on the principle that the light reflected on the mirrors, fixed on either side of the lens, are made to fall on the good portion of the retina thus helping in image formation.

The cost of the entire procedure, which took 20 minutes, is Rs. 20,000. An Israeli company, Optolight, has manufactured the lens. It will take a month for the eye to heal after which Mr. Dhanraj will be able to return to his normal routine, the ophthalmologists said.

The lens has been patented in the United States but approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration is awaited. The product and procedure has been approved in Europe, Dr. Agarwal said.

Usually, light rays from an object fall on the retina and the image is formed. But people suffering from macular degeneration will not have clear vision. Sometimes the retina may be damaged due to several reasons, including age. Mr. Dhanraj suffered from retinal degeneration caused by age. He lost his sight progressively over a period of time, he said.

The future implications of the procedure include modifying the lens to suit the needs of people suffering from problems such as field loss and retinitis pigmentosa, a congenital problem, said Dr. Agarwal.

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