New-born’s vision and life saved

Rawalpindi:A team of specialists at the Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital has successfully treated a rare eye tumour to save the vision and life of a new-born.

Mirha Ameer from Gujar Khan, just two hours old, faced a life-threatening congenital eye tumour, risking both her vision and life. After a week of consultation with different hospitals, the parents eventually came to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital for assistance.

The tumour was three times larger than the size of her eyeball that put her in a life-threatening condition, prompting doctors to urgently perform complex surgery, which continued for two and half hours and concluded successfully.

Dr Tayyab Afghani informed media persons that not only Mirha’s life but 50 per cent of her sight has also been preserved. He said that it was a rare case of a congenital tumour but after complete treatment, the child could live a normal life. He explained that congenital eye tumours are present at birth and can affect the orbit or the eye itself.

Afghani said that congenital eye tumours could cause vision problems or disfigurement if left untreated. They can also spread to the brain, optic nerve, and the rest of the body, becoming life-threatening. The symptoms include blurry vision, seeing floaters or flashes of light, shadows or dark spots in vision, light sensitivity, lumps on the eyelid or other parts of the eye, changes in the shape of the pupil, bulging, redness, or swelling of the eye, changes in the way the eye moves, and pain in the eye.

He said that over the past three years, the Al-Shifa Eye Cancer Centre has successfully performed 2500 sessions of chemotherapy procedures for children who have been diagnosed with eye cancer. Genetic testing can reduce the incidence of childhood eye cancer.

Dr Afghani said that 2000 children with eye cancer have been registered, of whom 500 have fully recovered. The Al-Shifa Eye Cancer Center caters to surgery, chemotherapy and rehabilitation under one roof, free of cost. Dr Tayyab Afghani, Dr Mansoorul Haq, Shumaila Niazi, Umera Asad, Asfandyar Amirzada, and Muhammad Tariq are among the team members who removed the tumour.