16 March 2009 (Dubai, UAE): Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's world leader in crude oil production with a workforce of more than 50,000 people, has selected Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, among other medical centers inside and outside the Kingdom, to complement the provision of specialist eye treatment for its employees.
The first patient from the company has been treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai under an agreement between the company and the hospital, which is the Dubai branch of the 200 year-old Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
The patient underwent successful corneal surgery performed by specialist consultants at the hospital in Dubai Health Care City. The cornea is the window at the front of the eye. In a normal eye the cornea is transparent and light is able to enter the eye through the clear cornea, pass through the clear lens to focus on the retina at the back of the eye.
When the cornea is deformed or damaged from injury or disease, the path of light to the retina is distorted and if this problem is severe then it may be necessary to replace the cornea in a transplant operation using material from a donor eye. Modern microsurgical techniques continue to improve the results of such surgery.
Dr Chris Canning, CEO and Medical Director at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, commented: "We are very pleased to be working with Saudi Aramco - one of the world's leading energy companies - and to have successfully treated the first Saudi Aramco staff patient under our new agreement. It was a complex corneal graft procedure but we have an excellent team of eye specialists based at the hospital in Dubai."
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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.
Issued on behalf of Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai by WPR.
Media contact:
Jonathan Walsh
WPR
Dubai
Tel: 050 4588610
Email: jon@wprme.com
© Press Release 2009
