Through Specialists' Eyes

The operation to restore sight by transplanting corneas from one eye to another has been known for more than 100 years, but surgeons are still trying to improve it. For two days in Manhattan last week, eye specialists from the U.S. and eight foreign countries discussed the delicate operation at the first International Symposium on Corneal Surgery ever held, sponsored by the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, Inc.

The ophthalmologists examined patients who had regained their sight through the Eye-Bank, heard reports on new experimental work, discussed techniques, looked at movies of corneal grafting made in the U.S., Spain and France. An unusual suggestion for the future of corneal grafting was made by Dr. Mauno Vannas, on leave from Finland's University of Helsinki. If enough eyes are available, he said, it might be possible to correct such ordinary defects in vision as near-and farsightedness by grafting new corneas. The operation might, for instance, make use of contact lenses unnecessary. But eyes are still scarce. Only about 1,200, most of them taken from the newly dead, have passed through the bank (actually, a household-type electric refrigerator) since it was organized five years ago.

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