Landmark Surgery Clears Vision for Oregon Girl

PORTLAND, Ore.--(Business Wire)--
Eight-year-old Hannah Terrell of Medford, Oregon, is living life with a new
perspective. Last year, it was hard for Hannah to play tag with her friends
because she couldn`t see the other children as they ran away. Now she is running
across the field and chasing her friends like any other third-grader. Mark A.
Terry, M.D., director of corneal services at Legacy Good Samaritan Devers Eye
Institute in Portland, Ore., cleared Hannah`s vision in her right eye with the
world`s first successful endothelial keratoplasty (EK) for congenital hereditary
endothelial dystrophy (CHED). Dr. Terry will operate on her left eye later this
fall.

When Dr. Terry examined Hannah for the first time, she was legally blind in both
eyes. He knew an EK was her best hope. The surgery replaces the damaged
endothelium, or inner layer of the cornea, with donor tissue through a small
incision in the side of the cornea. This tissue adheres to the back surface of
the old cornea and clears the corneal swelling, creating a clear window to see
through.

"In a traditional corneal transplant, the incision is larger, there are more
stitches and the healing process is longer. This can lead to a high risk of
amblyopia, or `lazy eye,` in children," said Dr. Terry. "The healing process
would have taken too long with a traditional full thickness transplant to get
the best vision for Hannah."

Dr. Terry developed EK and was the first to perform the surgery in the United
States in March 2000. Legacy Good Samaritan Devers Eye Institute has the lowest
complication rates at two percent, compared to 20-30 percent nationwide. Dr.
Terry further developed EK to its current form of Descemet's Stripping Automated
Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK). This is the first time the surgery was
successfully performed on a patient with CHED.

CHED is a rare condition that causes corneas to cloud over and vision to blur.
The endothelium is responsible for pumping excess water out of the cornea. In
CHED, the "pumps" don`t work properly and there is a build-up of water, which
clouds the vision like a foggy window. If left untreated in a child under the
age of 10, CHED can lead to permanent vision loss.

Before the recent surgery, CHED interfered with Hannah`s depth perception. She
took stairs slowly and with extreme caution. "I knew her depth perception was
better after surgery when she ran down the stairs without any fear," said her
father, David Terrell. "For the first time, I had to tell her to slow down."

After Dr. Terry operates on her right eye, the Terrells will have to keep an
even closer watch on their daughter. Hannah will no longer have anything holding
her back.

Legacy Good Samaritan Devers Eye Institute
Amber Shoebridge, 503-415-5362
Pager: 503-938-0336

Copyright Business Wire 2009