'Every day is beautiful' after cornea transplant

A man left completely blind for more than a year has had his eyesight partially restored thanks to a pioneering cornea transplant.

Paul Mainwaring, 65, from Dersingham in Norfolk, is one of just a handful of patients in the East to have undergone the procedure.

In April, he became the first patient at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to have the new type of two-layered corneal transplant, which reduces the risk of rejection to about 5% - compared to 40% in other procedures.

Mr Mainwaring, who now has partial sight in his left eye and will later have his other eye treated, said: "Every day has been absolutely beautiful to me."

Surgeon Chrishan Gunasekera, consultant ophthalmologist at NNUH, carried out the new type of corneal transplant, called a two-piece mushroom keratoplasty.

Mr Mainwaring lost his sight after ulcers had built up in his eyes.

A month on from his surgery, he says he can now mow the lawn and pick out his favourite flowers from the garden.

He said the return of his sight had left him crying and "so elated".

"It is so unreal," he said. "Every day is a lovely day as long as you can open your eyes to see it."

Explaining how the surgery worked, Mr Gunasekera said: "We separate the cornea into two layers - like slicing through a Victoria sponge.

"We have a top layer and a bottom layer and as we only remove 25% of the cells from the bottom layer there's less chance of rejection.

"The graft survival is 95% at five years."

He said the procedure was first performed in 2005 in Italy but, due to its technicality, had not seen widespread adoption despite its "incredible outcomes".

"The mushroom configuration of the surgical wound results in faster healing and preserves the structural integrity of the eye," he said.

"The results are fantastic. It’s brilliant that we can now offer this type of surgery to people across Norfolk and Waveney."

He said Mr Mainwaring's vision would improve further with treatment within a year.

Mr Mainwaring's wife Maggie, 74, has been her husband's carer for 14 months since his sight loss, but said they could finally share household chores.

"I've got to be honest, some days I was exhausted, absolutely - shopping, washing, gardening, cleaning," she said.

"But we'll get there - we know that."

Mr Mainwaring said: "I have learnt never to take anything for granted.

"I can't thank that man Chrish enough."

He added: "Live every day as if it's your last because you never know what is round the corner."

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