Ahmedabad doctors save Nigerian lawyer's eye

AHMEDABAD: A 56-year-old lawyer from Nigeria, Gbenga, had lost his right eye to measles when he was an infant. Recently, he was on the verge of losing his second eye to cataract, however, was saved by city-based eye surgeons.
Gbenga's left eye had developed antibodies which led to 'sympathetic opthalmia'- a very rare and serious eye disease. The antibodies that were produced when he lost his vision to measles were now misdirected against his good eye and were out to turn him blind.
When Gbenga came to Ahmedabad two years back, he complained of dimness of vision. He was then advised to take high-steroid dose which improved his vision as a result. When he gradually stopped taking the dose, it again resulted in loss of vision. Doctors in Nigeria, too, prescribed high dosage of steroids. Though he was gaining vision, he developed side effects like diabetes, hypertension and blood pressure.
He again stopped taking the medicines and this time it was worse. Gbenga had developed a severe condition of cataract, that it was difficult for the doctors to perform normal surgery.
Dr Manish Rawal, consulting eye surgeon, said, "The case was complicated. The antibodies produced by the eye lost to measles were the body's defense proteins. However, in this case they were wrongly directed against his other eye's tissue causing a recurrent inflammation."
Gbenga was operated on May 10. The surgery took one hour in comparison to the usual time taken for about 15-20 minutes. "High frequency sound waves (phacoemulsification) were used to break up the lens. Usually the surgery is done without injections, but he had to be given local anaesthesia," said Dr Rawal. "The chances of success were 50-50. We were extra cautious as we could not risk the patient losing his vision. The effort has paid off as he has got back 95 per cent vision."
Medical treatment being offered to Gbenga needs to be carefully monitored to reduce any side effects and improve visual prediction.
Dr Rohan Chauhan, retina specialist, said, "Now when the steroids are producing intolerable side effects, we are shifting him to an additional therapy called 'immunosuppressive' for long term safety."
There was a day when he was not able to see even his hand and now after getting operated, he is working all by himself.
His support throughout was his wife, who is a trader and earns a living for the entire family. The couple has two kids who are in Nigeria waiting for their dad to come back healthy.