SJS victim’s sight restored after 46 years

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:28 +0000

The year was 1963. Jenny O’Connell, then 11, was roused out of bed for her sister’s birthday and realized she couldn’t see. She was suffering from a severe adverse reaction to medication known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or SJS. The condition blistered her skin and eyes, causing blindness. At best, she was only vaguely aware when doctors shined a light in her eyes. But the vision impairment didn’t keep her from living. She married and had a son and daughter – three people she had never had the opportunity to see.

Thanks to medical innovations, Jenny, who lives in Dublin, underwent surgery a month ago to restore her sight by inserting an artificial cornea in her right eye. The woman was doubtful but hopeful. Doctors had closed a flap of skin over the cornea as she healed from surgery. Last week they removed the skin. “What a shock,” Jenny said. “I just can’t believe it actually happened… it’s all my dreams together, but at the same time I wasn’t hoping for it, you know. I was afraid to.”

The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin, Ireland performed the surgery known as Boston keratoprosthesis. The procedure is rare in Ireland; only about 13 of the procedures have been performed there. Doctors said Jenny’s case was rare because she had been without vision for so long.

Thanks to the surgery, Jenny was able to read numbers and letters for the first time in 46 years. But most remarkably, she was finally able to see the faces of her husband and children.

Source:
Irish Times

SOURCE: Stevens Johnson Syndrome › SJS victim’s sight restored after 46 years

Scleral lenses gives sight to man blinded by SJS

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:00:42 +0000

In 1996, Joe Zienowicz suffered from tennis elbow. An avid athlete, he sought help from his doctor, who prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. The medication nearly killed him. He was struck by Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), an adverse reaction to common medication in which skin peels off in sheets. It also can affect mucus membranes, blistering the mouth and eyes. Joe’s corneas were severely damaged, and he was permanently blinded.

For a year Joe lived in the dark, lying in the dark of his home, unable to even see the face of his wife. That, he said, is what he most missed.

And then a miracle happened. Joe was told by his cornea specialist Dr. C. Stephen Foster a the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary about about the innovative work of Dr. Perry Rosenthal at the Boston Foundation of Sight. Dr. Rosenthal had developed a deep contact lens called a scleral lens that was literally enabling the blind to see again. The lens rests on the sturdy white of the eye, and creates a tear-filled pool over the cornea.

The scleral lenses changed Joe’s life. A couple weeks after going to the Boston Foundation for Sight, Joe was fitted for lenses and was able to see again.

Joe’s touching story is played out on a video by the Boston Foundation of Sight. “He put in the lenses and said, ‘Oh my God. I can see,’” said his wife. “It’s a miracle.”

Though Dr. Rosenthal’s lenses have changed lives, insurance companies still see them as a cosmetic device. The custom, handmade lenses cost around $5,500 per pair. Making them more readily available is a priority for the Boston Foundation of Sight and Dr. Rosenthal.

“Sight should not be a gift. It should be a birthright,” he says on the video.

SOURCE: Stevens Johnson Syndrome › Scleral lenses gives sight to man blinded by SJS

Stevens Johnson Syndrome » Boston

SJS victim’s sight restored after 46 years

Scleral lenses gives sight to man blinded by SJS