Victim of an acid attack, Paul Laskey was about to permanently lose an eye when his doctors offered to try to save the organ thanks to a placenta.
- Paul, 43, almost lost his eye after an acid attack.
- To save the organ, the patient has undergone two corneal transplants and three amnios transplants, tissues taken from a placenta.
- AMNIOS is a transparent membrane located on the internal wall of the placenta. This fabric is rich in protein growth factors.
Paul Laskey’s life changed in February 2023. While trying to help his son, threatened with a knife, the 43 -year -old has received a corrosive substance in the eye. This acid attack caused burns at 4e degree that almost made him lose his eye irreversibly.
Fortunately, the organ was partly saved thanks to a placenta! Paul told his surprising therapeutic journey to the Bbc.
Acid attack: two corneal transplants and three placenta tissue transplants to save the eye
“It was burning. I saw nothing at all. It was horrible”says the Briton when the BBC asks him to remember his assault on acid. If the police and the emergency artists have made their best to protect their injured eye, the damage has proven to be significant. The doctors explained to him that the eye cells were so damaged that they would no longer regenerate.
After this announcement, the father of 3 children had to stay in the dark for 6 months, because the light made him suffer and caused him violent headache.
If the eye was very damaged, the doctors did not give up saving it. Paul Laskeey underwent several interventions the following months, including two corneal transplants and three AMNIOS transplants, a transparent membrane present on the internal wall of the placenta. Amnios’ grafts proven a placenta given to science. This is not the first time that placental fabrics have been used to treat eye injury. They are known to be rich in protein growth factors and thus manage to stimulate the healing process.
“In the case of Paul, who is really very serious, we started by eliminating any residues from the chemical agent which could still have been in contact with the eye, before moving on to an intensive, topical, systemic treatment and surgical, using transplantation of amniotic membrane “specifies Professor Figueiredo, ophthalmologist at the Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infimmy (RVI) who treated the patient.
AMNIOS transplant: “I am very grateful to the mother”
After these different interventions, Paul’s eye is saved today. “It is incredible to think that this is possible thanks to the generosity of a mother who donated the organ that she pushed to help her child grow. It is really remarkable”rejoices Pré Figueiredo.
The patient also has a thought for this generous donor. “I am very grateful to the mother who donated her placenta to help people like me who risk losing their sight completely.” The forties hopes to be able to meet her one day in order to thank her orally.
Now, that the eye is in good health, the medical team plans to start treatment with stem cells to try to make a larger part of Paul’s view.
