Incredibly, the retinal implant has finally been approved by the US FDA and not a second too soon!
We were always told that 'future technologies' would be the key to restoring significant vision in Liam's eyes, which is why we've been working so hard to keep his eyes healthy - but to be honest I always felt that this 'technology' would be decades away! As it turns out, it was just 4 short years after Liam's diagnosis that the possibility of a retinal implant giving Liam significant sight would become a reality!
On Monday, May 13th we had an EUA with Dr. Trese in Michigan. Liam's left eye is doing amazing well - so well in fact, that the pressure has returned to normal in that eye and we have now stopped using his glaucoma drops! We will continue to monitor the pressure in this eye, but at least for now, Liam will have a break in his regime of daily drops that began with whopping 22 drops a day and eventually dwindled to 3 a day and now to NONE!!
Dr. Trese is very pleased with Liam's retina in his left eye - it has settled nicely and has significant attachment - Liam's retina is ready - well almost - for a retinal implant! He is a little young still, but when he turns 8 years old he will have a retinal implant surgically placed on his retina. The device will work similar to the deaf using a cochlear implant.
Currently, the implant is available to patients suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) - another retinal disease. It is restoring vision to incredible degrees - patients with profound vision loss are seeing, reading, maneuvering without a cane or guide dog after receiving the retinal implants. As a result of the enormous success the implant has had with patients suffering from RP, the device will now be offered to patients with other sever retinal disease - such as PFVS! The only downfall is the pricetag - each implant has a cost of 100 thosand dollars. But we are determined to bring this technology to Liam!
And here begins another chapter in Liam's fight for sight!
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