Radiation therapy could restore eyesight


Doctors may have discovered an evolutionary new surgery to help cure macular degeneration, the leading cause of loss of eyesight within the UK. Using radiation that is directed at certain points within the eye, it is hoped that patients receiving this treatment, called Brachytherapy, could even gain sight from complete blindness. It is also a much simpler, easier and more cost-effective surgery than the one used presently, with the patient only needing to visit the hospital the one time.

At present, the sufferer of the disease will have to make monthly trips to the hospital which cost around £800 a time. During this visit they will have injections into their eyeball with a drug that slows down the affects of macular degeneration, but does not cure it. This new surgery would instead involve one trip to the hospital and should stop the blood vessels from leaking permanently. To do this, the surgeons insert a probe into the eye through a tiny incision and place it next to the abnormal blood vessels that are causing the problems. The radiation beam is then placed on these blood vessels, covering a tiny diameter of 5mm therefore eradicating the abnormal blood vessels whilst undamaging any surrounding tissue.

The effects of this surgery aren’t fully known but it is thought that they will last considerably longer than the current procedures and could even be a permanent solution. The only downside of the surgery is its cost; as it will set the patient back around £6000. However, if it offers a cure to macular degeneration then the price will be much more cost-effective than the monthly £800 visits. It is also thought that if this cost-effectiveness is proven, the NHS will take on this type of surgery to treat the disease.

4th December 2009

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