19.2.2020
On Tuesday, 28th of January 2020, a long and demanding operation awaited the team of specialists at Gemini in Zlin, under the leadership of chief surgeon Pavel Stodulka. His help was seeked by Mr. Ryszard Szumiata, a Polish patient who had suffered a severe eye injury in 1982 – corneal lime etching. The injury was followed by several attempts at corneal implantation. The last operation was performed in Poland in 1996. After that, however, his eyesight deteriorated so much that he could only perceive hints of outlines, light and darkness.
After 16 years, Mr. Ryszard turned to the Gemini Eye Clinic, which has become a pioneer in Boston-type artificial cornea implantation and has performed many surgeries with excellent results. The complex operation was performed by Dr. Pavel Stodulka, who first replaced the patient’s intraocular lens due to cataract and then implanted an artificial cornea.
A day later came a surprise. During Wednesday’s post-operative check-up at Gemini, the doctor removed the protective adhesive from Ryszard’s eye and asked, “How do you feel? Can you see the outline of my figure?” But then came a huge shock. In Polish, Mr. Ryszard replied, “Doctor, I can see you well and in all of your glory!” It was the first time in 16 years. The patient then looked around the examination room. Even though he had trouble recognizing some colors and letters, after a while he recalled everything with the chief doctor´s help and even read the smallest paragraph of text from the optotype! No one expected such a great result, and everyone immediately became very emotional. Mr. Ryszard was so moved that he started hugging everyone. When he returned to the waiting room, he called out to his family “I can see!” He immediately complimented his wife and admitted to his son that if he had met him on the street, he probably wouldn’t recognize him after all these years.
No one hid their joy! Cases like this give us a huge boost of energy to further advance patient care. We really appreciate every case where we can help people to see better again.
