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ORANGE COUNTY EYE SURGEON TEACHES EYE TRANSPLANT PROCEDURE IN FORMER SOVIET UNION, HELPS TO ESTABLISH ARMENIA'S FIRST EYE TISSUE BANK
International Business Times
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attac hid=889889
Dec 10 2008
NY
LAGUNA HILLS, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/10/08 -- Dr. John Hovanesian
of Orange County-basedHarvard Eye Associatesvisited the Republic of
Armenia in mid-November to establish the country'sfirst eye tissue
bank and to teach local cornea specialists the surgicaltechnique for
Descemet-stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK). As a volunteer
ofthe Armenian EyeCare Project,the physician also performed numerous
surgeries for the country'sunderserved.
Dr.Hovanesian worked with a team of local surgeons headed by
AnnaHovakimyan in Yerevan -- Armenia's capital. Hovakimyan's
fellowship wassponsored by Armenian EyeCare, an Orange County-based
nonprofitorganization started by Harvard Eye Associates founder
RogerOhanesian in 1992.
The relatively new DSEK technique allows surgeons to remove a
much smaller portion of thepatient's cornea compared with older
methods of transplantation. Theequipment -- valued at $100,000 --
was underwritten by Armenian EyeCareboard members, Harvard Eye
Associates, Baush and Lomb, Moria Inc. and otherlocal supporters of
the project. Dr. Hovanesian traveled to Armenia at hisown expense.
Because there are so many chemical injuries and similar types of
eyeproblems in Armenia, the Armenian EyeCare paved the way for a
local tissuebank in Armenia shortly after the fall of the Soviet
Union. After thelegal support system was established several years
later, Armenian EyeCaresponsored an Armenian surgeon to complete a
fellowship in eye banking.
"The procedure has a steep learning curve," Dr. Hovanesian said,
"but theresults are well worth the effort, especially for Armenia's
populationsuffering from a clouded cornea from injury or disease." He
said thatdistance and poverty often make it difficult for patients
to get to thecapital city for follow-up care after a traditional
full-thickness cornealtransplant. DSEK, which is associated with
a significantly lowerpost-operative burden of care compared with a
full-thickness cornealtransplant, was a perfect fit.
Dr. Hovanesian performed several surgeries over the course of his
four-dayvisit last month, but a sixteen year-old girl named Ani
Krikorian touchedhim most deeply. Ani (Dr. Hovanesian has a two-year
old named Ani) had achemical injury with household bleach to both eyes
at age two and has nothad vision for much of her life. Dr. Hovanesian
performed the DSEKprocedure on Ani last month and the results so far
point to full recoveryand restoration of vision.
International Business Times
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attac hid=889889
Dec 10 2008
NY
LAGUNA HILLS, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/10/08 -- Dr. John Hovanesian
of Orange County-basedHarvard Eye Associatesvisited the Republic of
Armenia in mid-November to establish the country'sfirst eye tissue
bank and to teach local cornea specialists the surgicaltechnique for
Descemet-stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK). As a volunteer
ofthe Armenian EyeCare Project,the physician also performed numerous
surgeries for the country'sunderserved.
Dr.Hovanesian worked with a team of local surgeons headed by
AnnaHovakimyan in Yerevan -- Armenia's capital. Hovakimyan's
fellowship wassponsored by Armenian EyeCare, an Orange County-based
nonprofitorganization started by Harvard Eye Associates founder
RogerOhanesian in 1992.
The relatively new DSEK technique allows surgeons to remove a
much smaller portion of thepatient's cornea compared with older
methods of transplantation. Theequipment -- valued at $100,000 --
was underwritten by Armenian EyeCareboard members, Harvard Eye
Associates, Baush and Lomb, Moria Inc. and otherlocal supporters of
the project. Dr. Hovanesian traveled to Armenia at hisown expense.
Because there are so many chemical injuries and similar types of
eyeproblems in Armenia, the Armenian EyeCare paved the way for a
local tissuebank in Armenia shortly after the fall of the Soviet
Union. After thelegal support system was established several years
later, Armenian EyeCaresponsored an Armenian surgeon to complete a
fellowship in eye banking.
"The procedure has a steep learning curve," Dr. Hovanesian said,
"but theresults are well worth the effort, especially for Armenia's
populationsuffering from a clouded cornea from injury or disease." He
said thatdistance and poverty often make it difficult for patients
to get to thecapital city for follow-up care after a traditional
full-thickness cornealtransplant. DSEK, which is associated with
a significantly lowerpost-operative burden of care compared with a
full-thickness cornealtransplant, was a perfect fit.
Dr. Hovanesian performed several surgeries over the course of his
four-dayvisit last month, but a sixteen year-old girl named Ani
Krikorian touchedhim most deeply. Ani (Dr. Hovanesian has a two-year
old named Ani) had achemical injury with household bleach to both eyes
at age two and has nothad vision for much of her life. Dr. Hovanesian
performed the DSEKprocedure on Ani last month and the results so far
point to full recoveryand restoration of vision.