11 February,2009 07:30 PM IST | | Alisha Coelho
THE doctors hail it as first of its kind procedure. Two-year-old Prateek Patil underwent a limbal stem cell transfer to his left eye for restoring his vision. However, what makes Patil's case unique was the fact that the cells to be transferred weren't completely taken from his normal right eye, but grown in a culture dish over three weeks.
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Prateek Patil
"When Prateek came to us in December, he was malnourished and suffering from xerosis - a condition that causes extreme dryness of eyes making the eyelids stick to each other. Prateek was suffering from a stem cell deficiency problem. The infection in his left eye had spread to nearly the entire diameter surrounding his cornea. We couldn't simply transfer some stem cells from one eye to the other," said Dr Sonia Nankani, ophthalmologist with Bombay Hospital's Taparia Institute of Ophthalmology.
That was when the hospital decided to 'grow' Prateek's cells. "We conducted a biopsy on his normal eye and after extracting part of stem cells, we placed the same on a membrane taken from a placenta and let it remain under observation for three weeks in amniotic fluid. After this was done, the entire membrane was transplanted into the left eye," said Nankani. Doctors hope Prateek will recover 70 per cent of his vision. There are, however, chances that he may have to undergo a corneal transplant in six months if the stem cells fail to correct the dryness.
Kolhapur farmer Anil Babu Patil had been running from pillar to post for over a year to have his boy's eye treated. "I spent 15 months in government and private hospitals in the city, until we finally landed at Bombay Hospital with no money and no hope. Prateek's mother is very excited to see him and is eagerly waiting for us to return home," said Patil, for whom the last year has been full of emotional and financial strain.
"Prateek's case was fully funded by us. The outsourcing of the stem cell culture alone cost Rs 44,000. He provided a very unique case study and we're glad he's recovering," Dr Ashish Tiwari, spokesperson Bombay Hospital, said.
Dry eyes is a fairly common ailment among city dwellers caused by Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), airconditioning, smoking or even other eye ailments. "Contrary to popular belief, splashing water on your eyes can even aggravate the condition. While Prateek's case is extreme, several young professionals suffer from dry eyes. The best thing to use to counter the problem is a tear substitute," said Nankani.
