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Artificial
Corneal Implant at NYEEI is First Biocompatible Operation of its Kind in
Tri-state Area
New York, NY (February 2004) -- On February 6 at
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, attending ophthalmologist
Ilan Cohen, MD,
performed the region's first artificial cornea implant to restore vision in a
man who had been legally blind for decades as the result of a chemical burn.
Recently approved by the FDA, the new implant
(called
AlphaCor)
is designed to replace a diseased or damaged cornea or failed human grafts. It
is made of a biocompatible polymer and eliminates the need for
immunosupressant therapies usually required with human donor tissue.
The device looks like a clear, donor-corneal
graft with a visible spongy rim. A patient's own cells grow into this outer
rim and hold it in place, allowing the eye to function normally. Only 45 other
patients across the US have received the new corneal implant.
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