Blind man regains sight after receiving artificial cornea implant

An Israeli man regained his sight after a decade of blindness following the first artificial cornea implantation developed by Israeli medical tech company CorNeat Vision, the company announced this month.

The patient, Jamal Furani, a resident of Haifa, began suffering some vision loss 10 years ago due to edema and other background diseases that damaged his corneas, and became bilaterally blind. 

This month, the 78-year-old became the first person in the world to be successfully implanted with CorNeat’s synthetic cornea, the CorNeat KPro, after the startup received the go-ahead last summer for human implantation.

The procedure was performed recently by Professor Irit Bahar, director of the Ophthalmology Department at the Rabin Medical Center (also known as Beilinson Hospital). 

CorNeat said that the patient was able to immediately read a text and see family members after the bandages were removed.

The surgical procedure was straightforward and the result exceeded all of our expectations, Professor Bahar said in a statement.

The moment we took off the bandages was an emotional and significant moment. Moments like these are the fulfillment of our calling as doctors. We are proud of being at the forefront of this exciting and meaningful project which will undoubtedly impact the lives of millions.