Turin surgeons perform world-first eye surgery to restore vision

Surgeons at the Molinette Hospital University Ophthalmological Clinic in Turin have performed a world-first ophthalmic procedure to restore sight to a 67-year-old woman. The patient, Elena, had been without functional vision for over five years following a severe car accident that caused extensive damage to both eyes.

Because the patient's left optic nerve was too damaged to transmit signals to the brain, doctors led by Dr. Michele Reibaldi performed a six-hour surgery to transfer healthy but non-functional tissue from the left eye to the right eye. This included parts of the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, and, for the first time internationally, the central region of the retina, known as the macula.

The goal was to move healthy anatomical material from the eye that could no longer communicate with the brain to the eye that still had neural connectivity but suffered severe structural damage. The procedure was successful, and the patient has begun to progressively regain vision in her right eye.