Milestone reached in Indian rural corneal transplants

The landmark transplant, which was performed in April, has been completed in a relatively short timeframe. The institute’s network of secondary clinics first began performing corneal transplants at in March 2016. Over the course of just three years, the procedure was expanded to four regional care centres.“This achievent is an example of a ‘road never travelled’,” Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder and Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute said.“From a situation when I was told to forget corneal transplantation as it is an impossibility in India just about 32 years ago when we founded the L V Prasad Eye Institute, we have now achieved this rarkable feat. Several in our team have worked hard to make this happen and I thank th for making us proud.”{{quote-A:R-W:400-I:2-Q:“From a situation when I was told to forget corneal transplantation as it is an impossibility in India just about 32 years ago when we founded the L V Prasad Eye Institute, we have now achieved this rarkable feat” -who:Gullapalli N Rao, LVPEI}}Following up potential complications of corneal transplants such as infection, degeneration and scarring are particularly difficult in rural India.As well as the limited local facilities and access to eye banks, many people are unable to receive treatment as it would require forgoing wages for an extended period to undergo treatment and follow-up in a city.“LVPEI’s rural secondary eye centres are fully equipped facilities that routinely perform cataract and simple glaucoma surgeries,” Rao said.“But now since the past three years, we have successfully scaled up our secondary centres’ medical and surgical reach to the doorsteps of India’s rural hinterlands by performing complex surgeries.“Patients no longer have to travel to a bigger city for eye care. The staff at our secondary centres are adequately trained to take care of post-operative care of corneal transplant patients.”The LVPEI was first established in 1987 as a not-for-profit, non-government eye care institution. Its pyramidal model of eye care delivery currently includes a Centre of Excellence, three tertiary centres, 19 secondary and 180 primary care vision centres spread throughout the country.In 2015 it became the first single institute in the world to achieve 20,000 corneal implants across its entire network. More reading:Dry eye disease to affect one in two urban Indians by 2030Eye researcher recognised with prestigious awardHow McDonald’s inspired the success of an extraordinary eye hospital