Treatment of Amblyopia with Transplantation of One’s Own Stem Cells

Amblyopia is also known as lazy eye syndrome. It manifests itself in a violation of binocular vision (full-fledged, three-dimensional). There is a risk of developing strabismus without timely therapy for this ophthalmic disease. Doctors note the high efficiency of cell therapy among a lot of treatments for amblyopia. One of the medical institutions where doctors use this technology perfectly is Mardaleishvili Medical Centre’s Eye Clinic.

Nana Digmelashvili, a leading ophthalmologist and transplant surgeon at the medical centre’s Eye Clinic, recommends undergoing amblyopia treatment in this Georgian clinic, where cell transplantation therapy has been successfully used for many years. The effectiveness of this technique has been proven by practice, case histories, and feedback with gratitude from the patients of the medical centre.

Treatment includes the collection of the patient’s bone marrow, isolating stem cells, and injecting them intravitreally, retrobulbarly, intrathecally, and intravenously.

The effectiveness of treatment is determined by the following indicator: improvement of vision.

Performing the procedure

In the 2-3 days before transplantation, the patient undergoes the following consultations, examinations, and preoperative tests:

• Ophthalmologist’s consultation
• Neurologist’s consultation
• Anesthesiologist’s consultation
• Blood test (full blood count, coagulogram, immunophenotyping of lymphocytes, determination of blood group and Rh, serological screening for viruses, liver and kidney function)
• OCT (optical coherence tomography)
• Gonioscopy
• Electrophysiological examination of the eye and optic nerve
• Computerized perimetry (with a minimum of 10% vision)
• Laser iridotomy (when the angle of the anterior chamber of the eyeball is narrow or closed)

A bone marrow collection and transplantation procedure will be performed after all examinations (the patient should not eat or drink for 5 or more hours before the procedure).

Procedure protocol

The first stage is the bone marrow collection.

The bone marrow is taken from the anterior and posterior tubercles of the patient’s ilium by aspiration. This procedure is quite painful, and it will be performed under general anesthesia. Anesthesia is administered by intravenous injection (Propofol) and inhalation (Sevoran). The amount of bone marrow sampling is determined by the age and weight of the patient (from 80 ml to 130 ml). This procedure lasts 15–30 minutes.

The laboratory performs stem cell isolation by centrifugation in a density gradient (Ficoll method).

This process takes 1.5–2 hours.

The resulting stem cells are suspended in saline.

During bone marrow processing, the patient is monitored in the intensive care unit.

The second stage is stem cell transplantation into the patient.

When transplant suspension is ready, the patient is transferred to the operating room, and stem cell transplantation begins.

Usually the obtained suspension of the stem cells is injected intravitreally – into the eye with the several injections, retrobulbarly – into the orbit and intrathecally – into the spinal canal. The process of introducing of stem cells is performed under local anesthesia.

After transplantation, the patient stays in a separate ward. The patient can leave the clinic after being monitored for 2-3 hours, and receiving final consultation and recommendations.

Treatment of amblyopia

Classical therapy for amblyopia

This pathology develops for many reasons. It is very important to establish the cause (or causes) in order to draw up a correct protocol.

The causes of amblyopia include:

• Farsightedness or nearsightedness
• Strabismus
• Retinal surgery
• Eye injuries
• Congenital anomalies / heredity
• Severe stress
• Mental disorders
• Mental retardation
• Cerebral palsy and others.

Treatment is aimed to restore binocular vision with subsequent improvement in visual acuity. For this, the following interventions and procedures can be prescribed:

• Optical correction means wearing of glasses or lenses. This method is expensive because corrective lenses should be changed regularly. An additional difficulty is the fact that children may not want to wear them.
• Occlusion is training the damaged eye by closing and opening it, alternating with the healthy eye.
• Surgery is prescribed for strabismus.
• Laser correction is prescribed for anisometropia.

Use of special devices or simulators which help eliminate pain syndrome are among the additional methods of treating amblyopia.

The results of traditional methods

Not all methods allow ophthalmologists to achieve their goals in the treatment of patients, as the result is not always complete and satisfactory for the patient. Success of therapy may depend of hereditary factors, comorbidities, advanced pathogenesis, age, and so on. Some surgeries have side effects.

Contact the Mardaleishvili Medical Centre and we will offer you safe ophthalmic treatment with good results!

Treatment of amblyopia with stem cells

Cell therapy is relatively new method of treatment. Over time, it has been universally recognized as an effective ophthalmic technique and may eventually become the most recommended. Most doctors strongly advise patients to undergo a new transplant procedure, among other classical methods, because this treatment has a significant advantage over traditional protocols. It is important to note that cell therapy is not an experimental technique, but an official one.

Advantages of stem cell treatment for amblyopia:

• Prevention of strabismus development risk.
• Reliable restoration of the previous quality of vision.
• Strengthening the general protective forces of the eyes.
• Safe treatment without pain and unwanted side effects.
• Elimination of almost all risks associated with surgery.

The method of cell therapy is effective, as confirmed by the experience of many patients. It is noteworthy that the restored visual acuity remains the same for a sufficiently long time. Treatment with classical methods must often be repeated. The age range of patients is very wide, and stem cells have a positive effect even at 70-85 years old.

Benefits of treatment at Mardaleishvili MC:

• Qualified doctors of all specializations
• High technological level of the transplant procedure
• A more affordable cost of treatment than in other countries
• Favorable transport location of the clinic
• Special department for convenient organisation of patients’ arrival and accommodation

Choose stem cell treatment for amblyopia and restore volumetric, acute, full-fledged vision in an affordable and safe way!