UAE: Stem cell treatment saves worker’s eye after freak accident

Dubai - Chunks of cement got stuck in the worker's eye.

Blue-collar worker Amarjit was on his shift at an Ajman factory when a heap of cement fell on his face in a freak accident. One of his eyes was shut.

First aid was immediately administered at the cement factory and he felt better afterwards, so he got back to work. However, over the next two months, he started experiencing excruciating pain and a constant twitch in his left eye. This was accompanied by problems in eye movement, as well as partial loss of vision.

“We found cement chunks that were retained in one of his eyes that led to his ocular movements being grossly restricted,” said Dr Deepak Sharma, cornea, cataract and ocular surface surgeon at NMC Royal Hospital in Dubai Investments Park, who took Amarjit’s case from Ajman.

To save the worker’s eye, Dr Sharma and his team decided to use one of the latest medical technologies, a stem cell transplant.

“We planned a two-phase procedure: A surgical treatment requiring a stem cell transplant in the first phase, while in the other one we would focus on eye reconstruction,” the surgeon explained.

The procedure was called simple limbal epithelial stem cells transplant (SLET), in which the experts would harvest tissues from the patient’s healthy eye and placed them onto an amniotic membrane attached to the surface of the affected eye.

“Simple limbal epithelial cells are the primary source of regeneration of the cells of the eyes,” Dr Sharma explained.

“Fortunately, the patient’s right eye was healthy and we could harvest the stem cells out of it and transplant it onto his left eye. This will help in the regrowth of the damaged cells that would be regenerated, leading to surface stabilisation of the damaged eye over a period of time.”

This high-tech procedure, he explained, is ‘very promising’ — especially for victims of similar freak accidents where chemicals enter the eyes.

“Time is of the essence here and early referral of such cases can save many from losing their eyesight permanently,” Dr Sharma said.

The surgical procedure of harvesting and transplanting the stem cells took about four hours. And after the surgery, the patient is said to be recuperating well with “return of complete ocular movements and normal-looking ocular surface”, the doctor added.

Thanking the hospital and his doctors, a grateful Amarjit — who is the sole breadwinner of his family of five — said: “For a simple worker like me to get this latest treatment is nothing short of a miracle. I am also thankful to my employer and this country, the UAE, where I could get this modern treatment irrespective of my social status.”

saman@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai
• Ajman