Rare life-saving surgery restores sight of newborn

Al-Shifa specialist says after complete treatment, child can live a normal life

A team of specialists at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital successfully treated a rare congenital eye tumour, saving both the vision and life of a newborn.

Mirha Ameer, an infant from Gujar Khan, was diagnosed with a life-threatening eye tumour shortly after birth, endangering her sight and survival. After a week of seeking consultations at various hospitals, her parents turned to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital for a solution.

The tumour was three times larger than the size of her eyeball and the girl was in life-threatening condition, prompting doctors to urgently perform complex surgery, which continued for two and half hours and concluded successfully. Dr Tayyab Afghani, Dr Mansoorul Haq, Dr Shumaila Niazi, Dr Umera Asad, Dr Asfandyar Amirzada, and Dr Muhammad Tariq are among the team members who removed the tumour.

A distinguished ophthalmologist at Al-Shifa Trust, Dr Tayyab Afghani, told the media that not only Mirha's life but 50% of her sight has also been preserved. It was a rare case of a congenital tumour but after complete treatment, the child can live a normal life, he said, adding that congenital eye tumours are present at birth and can affect the orbit or the eye itself.

Dr Afghani said that congenital eye tumours could cause vision problems or disfigurement if left untreated. They can also spread to the brain, optic nerve, and the rest of the body, becoming life-threatening.

The symptoms include blurry vision, seeing floaters or flashes of light, shadows or dark spots in vision, light sensitivity, lumps on the eyelid or other parts of the eye, bulging, redness, or swelling of the eye, changes in the way the eye moves, and pain in the eye. He said that over the past three years, the Al-Shifa Eye Cancer Centre has successfully performed 2,500 sessions of chemotherapy procedures for children who have been diagnosed with eye cancer.