Pioneering stem cell operation deemed a success

A patient with wet AMD has received pioneering stem cell treatment at Moorfields Eye Hospital using a specially engineered patch inserted behind the retina in an operation lasting one to two hours.

The operation was described as a major milestone in the London Project to Cure Blindness – a partnership between the hospital, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, the National Institute for Health Research and Pfizer.

It formed part of a trial investigating the safety and efficacy of transplanting retinal pigment epithelium derived from stem cells to treat people with sudden severe visual loss from wet AMD.

During the operation, which took place last month, cells were used to replace those at the back of the female patient’s eye – with no complications to date. Surgeons hoped to determine her outcome in terms of initial visual recovery by early December this year.