For 9 of her 12 years, Adriana Slusher could only see through one of her eyes after an accident destroyed the vision in her right eye. But thanks to a breakthrough surgery which for the first time was performed in Belize at the KHMH, Adriana is tonight one step closer to seeing again through both of her eyes which she hasn't done since the age of three.
Paulita Samuels, Mother of Cornea Transplant Patient
"Her eyes were very white because someone poked her in the eyes with a knife from she was three years old."
Q: So for nine years she couldn't see through one of her eyes?
Paulita Samuels,
"Yeah."
For 9 years Paulita Samuels' daughter could only see through one eye. But in an ambitious three hours, a team of specialists led by Dr. Victoriano Valdez reversed her partial blindness with a breakthrough cornea transplant at the KHMH. For the operation this replacement cornea was flown in from the USA and then Dr. Valdez and his team replaced Adriana's faulty cornea with one that's like new.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar, Medical Chief of Staff - KHMH
"Cornea is the part of the eye that you see; the white part. In this little girl's case that was damaged so another cornea from somebody else's eye, a donor, was brought in from the U.S. and was placed in her eye."
Q: So is it like she got a new eye?
Dr. Fernando Cuellar,
"Well it is not a whole new eye, it is just that specific part of the eye that is necessary for vision."
Q: So will she regain full vision when she does recover?
Dr. Fernando Cuellar,
"We hope that she does."
Q: As the chief of staff here at the KHMH how a big a milestone is this for you for a surgery like this to be performed here?
Dr. Fernando Cuellar,
"Well it is huge; it's huge. Transplants at any level is another frontier in medicine and if we can have that going here at Karl Heusner that's refreshing."
Good news for the KHMH and even better news for this mother who made the trip from their home in Gales Point Manatee and anxiously awaited the outcome of the surgery and the news that her daughter regained full vision.
Paulita Samuels, Mother of Cornea Transplant Patient
"I feel very good about it."
Q: _How happy are you right now that quite possibly your daughter may regain full vision?
Paulita Samuels,
"I am very happy and I have some people to thank for it like the missionaries who helped."
Adriana Slusher is recovering, however there is still a risk for infection and rejection. If Adriana had been flown abroad the surgery it would have cost upwards of $20,000.
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited for the internet by Keith Swift