Oman health: Al Nahda Hospital plan to begin cornea transplant operations

Muscat: Experts are putting in place plans to begin offering cornea transplant surgery in Oman.
An official at Al Nahda Hospital confirmed that the medical staff is preparing to perform cornea transplant surgeries. “We are just waiting for the ministry’s green light to start the new service,” the official said.
Many people in Oman who are suffering from infections in their corneas need transplants, but only a few are being admitted to Omani hospitals due to eye injuries.
A cornea transplant is an operation to remove all or part of a damaged cornea and replace it with all or part of a healthy cornea.
A cornea transplant is often referred to as a keratoplasty, or a corneal graft. It can be used to improve sight, relieve pain and treat severe infection or damage to the eye. Plans for Omani transplants follow the visit of three corneal surgeons from India, having been invited by the Ministry of Health, with the goal of evaluating possible corneal transplantation in the country.
“We were invited by the Ministry of Health to help train and facilitate Al Nahada hospital doctors in performing corneal transplants locally. We visited and presented ideas about how it can be done and also gave half-day lectures. We have submitted our report to hospital authorities for their consideration and further action,” said Virender S Sangwan, Director, Center for Ocular Regeneration (CORE), L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India.
Currently, eye donations and corneal transplants do not occur in Oman, and often patients have to be transferred to other countries to have eye surgeries, including Iran, India and the United States.