KARACHI: Facility of corneal transplantation, a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue, was finally restored on Friday at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run Spencer Eye Hospital (SEH) after a pause of 12 years.

City Mayor Wasim Akhtar inaugurated the department of corneal transplantation and laser-assisted cataract surgery at the SEH, where transplantation of four corneas brought from Sri Lanka would be carried out in as many patients.

Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman, senior director of health and medical services and medical superintendent of the eye hospital Dr Birbal Genani, Abubakar of Lions Club Pakistan, former MS Dr Niaz Brohi, Faisal Edhi and others were present.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the mayor said that a committee comprising former senior directors and present medical superintendent was constituted to give its recommendations for making the Spencer Eye Hospital operational in a better way.

He said that arrangement for bringing cornea from Sri Lanka was also made and the KMC would seek four corneas every month for transplantation.

Mr Akhtar said that the municipal administration was making all-out efforts to bring improvement in the KMC-run hospitals because they were in poor condition due to negligence in the past.

“We are trying our best to bring improvement in the hospitals so that poor patients could get low-cost or free medical treatment,” he added.

The mayor said that Spencer Eye Hospital provided treatment of eye diseases and operations to citizens of Karachi only, but patients from all over the country and abroad also availed themselves of these facilities.

He said the corneal transplantation and cataract laser surgery cost Rs150,000 and Rs50,000 respectively, which was hardly bearable for the poor.

“We are providing these facilities free of cost to needy patients,” he said.

Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman said that the Spencer Eye Hospital was a big name and when he was doing his MBBS renowned personalities got treated there. “It was really very painful to see this prestigious medical facility in such a poor condition, but we had to make this hospital operational again,” he added.

He expressed the hope that with the attention of the mayor of Karachi and the Lions Club of Pakistan the past glory of the hospital would be brought back.

Dr Brohi, Dr Genani, Mr Abubakar and others also spoke.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2019