LONDON -- A new surgical technique has been used to restore the sight of a man suffering from the commonest cause of blindess in the elderly.
David Wong, an eye surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in northwest England, said the surgery which repositions the damaged part of the retina could help thousands of people."Put simply, it is like moving a carpet which has a worn patch in it and tucking the worn part away," Wong explained in a statement.
"What we have demonstrated is that there is spare capacity for vision in the eye. When one part is worn out another part can be made to take over the work," he added.
Millions of people around the world suffer from macular degeneration in which new blood vessels grow near the macula of the eye causing a gradual loss of vision and eventual blindness.
Up until now laser therapy has been the most effective treatment for the condition. It limits the damage but it cannot improve sight.
During the two-hour operation Wong and his colleagues transferred vision from the worn part of the retina of 70-year-old John Barr to a healthier area so he could see again.
Barr, of Pickering in northern England, couldn't read before the operation. Three days after the surgery he was reading small print and is hoping to be able to drive again soon.
Wong described the technique as "the single most important surgical development for many years."
Although the surgery is still at the developmental stage, and doctors in the United States and Germany are also trying to perfect the technique, Wong said he is encouraged by his results so far.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a surgeon where you take little steps and then suddenly make a giant leap. It is the sort of thing every surgeon dreams of because it may transform the lives of so many people. Macular degeneration affects so many people and is so devastating," said Wong.
Early signs of the disorder are a sudden loss of vision, distortions of straight lines or a dark patch in one eye.
Doctors have advised elderly people to eat more corn, eggs, orange peppers, red grapes and pumpkins which are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, chemical compounds called antioxidant carotenoids, that can help prevent macular degeneration.