Eye surgeons from the Singapore National Eye Centre together with a dental team from the National Dental Centre successfully completed the first stage of a revolutionary two stage surgical procedure to help a blind boy to see. This is believed to be the first operation of its kind in South-East Asia.

The patient, Luck Pewnual, a 19 year-old boy from Thailand, completely lost his sight in both eyes six years ago from a rare allergic reaction. He is currently recovering well after a 6-hour operation performed at the Singapore National Eye Centre on Saturday, 21 February 2004.

Stage 1 of the surgery involved 5 separate procedures:  

1. opening up one eye and removing the entire inner surface of his eyelids, his corneal surface, and all scar tissue from his previous eye injury
2. removing the inner mucosal lining of the cheek and transplanting it onto the new surface of the eye
3. removing a canine tooth and part of the adjacent bone and attached ligaments from his jaw (interestingly, the canine tooth is also known as the "eye-tooth")
4. fashioning a bolt-shaped structure from this tooth-bone complex to receive a plastic optical cylinder which is cemented into place
5. implanting the tooth-bone-cylinder complex into his cheek to grow a new blood supply

Stage 2 is expected to take place in June this year, and will involve 2 separate procedures. First, the cheek mucosal lining over the eye will be opened, and a circular opening made in his cornea to receive the implant. The inner contents of the eye will also be removed at the same time. Secondly, the living tooth-bone-cylinder complex will be removed from the cheek, and placed within the eye, and the mucosal cheek lining will be replaced over the implant. At the end of the procedure, light can now enter through the plastic cylinder, and he will be able to see through this cylinder with good vision.

This surgery is a last ditch attempt for those who lose their sight when their corneas and front part of the eye and eyelids are severely damaged. Patients selected for surgery will include those cases of complete blindness in which conventional corneal transplants will not work. If successful, more OOKP surgery is being planned, and a list of local and regional patients is awaiting the possibility of surgery with this new technique. The cost for the first operation is $9,000 for foreign patients. The second stage is expected to cost $6,000.

The Singapore National Eye Centre would like to thank the Singapore General Hospital management and staff for the inpatient care and services rendered during his post-operative recovery.

The Surgical Team involved in Stage 1

1. OOKP Surgeons

• Assoc Prof Donald Tan
  Deputy Director, Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC)
  Head and Senior Consultant, Corneal & External Eye Disease Service, SNEC
  Director, Singapore Eye Research Institute
  Head, Dept of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore
• Dr Andrew Tay
  Consultant, Dept of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  National Dental Centre
• Dr Julian Theng
  Consultant, Corneal & External Eye Disease Service
  Singapore National Eye Centre

2. OOKP Anaesthetist

• Dr V Sivagnanaratnam
  Visiting Consultant Anaesthetist, SNEC
  Emeritus Consultant Anaesthetist, Changi General Hospital

3. SNEC Corneal Fellows, Corneal Nurses and OT Nurses

4. NDC Nursing Team

5. OOKP Surgical Advisor:

• Dr Christopher Liu

In attendance

• Dr Christopher Liu
  Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton, England
  Visiting Consultant, SNEC

Singapore National Eye Centre

The Singapore National Eye centre is the designated national eye centre within the public healthcare network that provides specialist eye care to 70 percent of patients in the public sector. It now attends to 250,000 outpatient visits and performs 12,000 major eye surgeries and 11,000 laser procedures annually. The high quality, comprehensive range and volume of SNEC’s services reaffirm SNEC as a one-stop eye care centre for Singapore and the region. Please see enclosed VISION booklet for further information on the SNEC.
 

National Dental Centre

The National Dental Centre (NDC) is the nation's referral centre for specialist oral healthcare services. In addition to providing services in the areas of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Restorative Dentistry, NDC's specialists also collaborate with other medical specialists to manage patients with complex oral needs. Some of these complex higher-end procedures include oral rehabilitation for patients needing customised implants or undergoing radiotherapy treatment for head & neck cancers, corrective surgeries for patients with dentofacial deformities, and nerve injury repair procedures. The OOKP procedure is another demonstration of the Centre's capabilities, targeted at providing excellent clinical expertise for patients both in Singapore and the region. For more information on NDC, please refer to the enclosed Fact Sheet or visit website www.ndc.com.sg

Singapore National Eye Centre, National Dental Centre and Singapore General Hospital are members of Singapore Health Services (SingHealth)

For further information, please contact:

Ravi Chandran
Corporate Communications Executive
Singapore National Eye Centre
Tel: 65 6 322 8394
E-mail: ravi.chandran@snec.com.sg
Date : 25 February 2004