A 29-year-old Ghanaian has had her dream fulfilled seeing her family after eight years of blindness.
This was after Mary Annan benefitted from the first ever “Keratoprosthesis” surgery by Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital in Accra.
The young lady went totally blind eight years after taking an unprescribed medicine for malaria.
She developed Steven Johnson Syndrome- which is a disease of ocular surface- following treatment of malaria which affected her vision. Her vision in both eyes was PL+.
Mary was dependent on family members for day-to-day activities- a situation she said nearly made her commit suicide.
But she said doctors assured her the inside of her eyes were still functional enough that she might one day see.
So earlier this year, Ghanaian Ophthalmologist and Medical Director of the Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital, Dr. Asiwome Senadza, offered her a new surgical technology called Keratoprosthesis where a damaged cornea is replaced with partial artificial cornea.
Mary said one eye was done on August 31, 2017 while the other on October 29, 2017 and after the surgery on Day 1, she had vision almost 95%.
An excited Mary in an interview said: “I was able to see my family and new cars in town. I’m so happy. Now I can see the man of my dream.”
Also, Dr. Asiwome Senadza revealed that they also performed the same surgery on a patient who had been blind for 16 years.
He indicated that the procedure costs between GH₵5,000 to GH₵7,000 to restore sight for many who cannot benefit from cornea transplant.
“With this facility in place, Ghanaians will no longer have to bear the stress of travelling abroad to access world-class eye care and treatment.”
Dr. Seneadza added that the hospital will also serve as research hub and a centre for building capacity of Eye Specialists across the sub-region.
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