New Procedure Can Treat Diseases Common in UAE

Dubai, January 22, 2008: A consultant specialist surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD), the first overseas branch of the 200-year old Moorfields London, has developed a new technique for corneal transplant surgery that will drastically reduce patient recovery time and complications.

Dr. Edmondo Borasio has named his new treatment 'iLASIK,' and he is perfecting it using MEHD's new Femtosecond IntraLase, the most up to date laser technology in the world.

 "There are a number of applications of iLASIK that will particularly benefit patients in the UAE," said Dr Borasio. "For instance, a common disease here is keratocornus, which involves a progressive bulging of the eye leading to severe astigmatism (irregularly shaped cornea) and cloudy vision. A partial corneal transplant for this disease will now be relatively painless, and astigmatism will be drastically reduced."

He explained the advantages of the new technique: "Partial thickness corneal transplants, also called 'grafts,' are performed when only the front or the back of the cornea is diseased, but the rest is healthy. The advantages of transplanting only a layer rather than the whole cornea are that the eye doesn't need to be opened during surgery, the stitches can be removed earlier, and the graft is less likely to be rejected. In some cases, there is no need to apply any stitches to keep the graft in place, eliminating all suture-related complications such as infection and astigmatism."

With the iLASIK technique developed at MoorfieldsEye Hospital Dubai, the donor cornea is prepared in a special way before being cut and transplanted. It is flipped inside-out and mounted on a special support before being cut with state-of-the-art laser technology, the IntraLase femtosecond laser. This allows a perfect match between the donor and the recipient cornea, as opposed to the traditional techniques. This improved match reduces postoperative astigmatism and improves vision without glasses after surgery.      

Dr. Chris Canning, MEHD's CEO and Medical Director, said: "Dr. Borasio's progress in corneal surgery is an example of Moorfields' legacy of excellence. Our parent facility has pioneered some of the most exciting ophthalmic research of our time, and we aim to bring the same standard of care and innovation to patients in the GCC."

MEHD is located in Dubai Health Care City in the Al Razi building. The hospital has been in operation since June, 2007.

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About Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD) is the first overseas branch of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the oldest and one of the largest centres for ophthalmic treatment, teaching and research in the world.

Located at the Al Razi Medical Complex in Dubai Health Care City, the facility provides daycase surgery and outpatient diagnostic and treatment services, including emergency care, for a variety of surgical and non-surgical eye conditions.  

MEHD will also raise standards for research and teaching in the region through its partnership with the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center.

MEHD is owned and managed by the NHS Foundation Trust, and maintains close links with London, including a telelink with sophisticated videoconferencing technology, to ensure that patients in the GCC receive the best eye care treatment in the world.

For further information, please visit MEHD's website at www.moorfields.ae or call 04 429 7888.

© Press Release 2008