Hospital Gautier performs first successful cornea transplant

The Hospital Salvador Bienvenido Gautier in Santo Domingo has successfully performed its first cornea transplant, a milestone for its ophthalmology service. The procedure was carried out on a patient over 60 years old who had lost vision in both eyes due to complications from cataract surgeries Source: eldiado. The surgery, led by Dr. Judith Portorreal, involved replacing the damaged cornea with donor tissue from a US eye bank Source: diariolibree. The hospital plans a second transplant for the other eye once the first is fully healed Source: eldiado.

The procedure

Dr. Portorreal explained that the transplant removes the damaged cornea and places the new one, with recovery taking one month to a year Source: eldiado. The surgery lasted up to an hour, and complications such as primary graft failure are possible Source: diariolibree. In successful cases, the cornea regains transparency within the first week to a month Source: diariolibree.

Team and context

The surgical team included residents Héctor Castillo, Richard Valenzuela, Carolina Jiminián, Juan Salvador Genao, and Alexandra Estrella, coordinated by Dr. Francisco Ramos, head of Ophthalmology Source: eldiado. Hospital director Mingkingüeis Maarlem congratulated the team Source: eldiado. Ramos noted the hospital's pioneering role in cataract surgery and expressed commitment to continuing cornea transplants Source: eldiado. The first extracapsular cataract surgery at Gautier was performed by Dr. Ramón Damiano in 1987 Source: eldiado.