78-year-old man who was blind for a decade regains vision after artificial cornea transplant (Photos)

A 78-year-old man who was blind for a decade has become the topic of discussion on the streets of social media after regaining his sight as he was implanted with an artificial cornea developed by an Israeli company.

Jamal Furani from Haifa, Israel, who suffered from oedema and other diseases, had a damaged cornea, causing a decade of vision loss.

Fortunately, following the first artificial cornea implantation developed by Israeli medical tech company CorNeat Vision, he can now see.

CorNeat Vision, the biomimetic implant firm said it was the first such successful implant.

The artificial cornea, which fits into the eyewall, was implanted earlier this month by Prof. Irit Bahar, director of the Ophthalmology Department at Rabin Medical Center in Israel.

Upon removal of bandages, Furani was able to read a text and recognize family members, the startup said in a statement earlier this month.

CorNeat’s product, made out of 100% synthetic, non-degradable porous material, replaces scarred or deformed corneas and requires no donor tissue. It uses cell technology and nanoscale chemical engineering to mimic the existing cell environment.

When implanted, the material integrates with the live tissue and stimulates cellular proliferation, leading to even more integration. The implant thus does not trigger an adverse immune system response, the company said.

Dr Gilad Litvin, CorNeat Vision’s co-founder, chief medical officer, and the inventor of the CorNeat KPro, said after the successful implant: “Unveiling this first implanted eye and being in that room, at that moment, was surreal.

“After years of hard work, seeing a colleague implant the CorNeat KPro with ease and witnessing a fellow human being regain his sight the following day was electrifying and emotionally moving, there were a lot of tears in the room. This is an extremely important milestone for CorNeat Vision.”