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Show J Hospital sees first ; cornea transplant History was made at the I American Fork Hospital on Sept 22 when the first cornea transplant i as performed at the hospital. I Bennett "Dix" Davis, a long time 1 ! "sidentof American Fork, received I transplant about 10 am. on j ept 22, shortly after being notified . donor cornea was available 'he operating team mobilized. that evening, Mr. Davis was well with his new cornea taraplant and was resting Mmfortably in the hospital, k He continues to do well, hospital fffiaals say, and his vision is ""Proving daily. He was able to I 2050 on the eye chart one J following surgery and will I on be able to work at Geneva ' jria of U.S. Steel. Mr. Davis had noticed a gradual rease in his vision over the past r;? years because of i, ) SC0nu8 - a disease which the shape of the cornea resulting in progressive astigmatism and blurring. His vision had deteriorated to the point that his right eye was not very useful and it was determined a transplant was indicated. He was placed on the waiting list at the Utah lions Eye Bank and had to wait for a cornea donor suitable for the transplant. Unlike most organ transplants, the success rate is extremely high with corneal transplants. The success rate is around 70 to 90 percent, according to Dr. Jesse N. Hunsaker, M.D., the staff ophthalmologist at the American Fork Hospital. Unfortunately, however, . Dr. Hunsaker added, "the wait for a transplant is sometimes quite long. Many people just don't think about donating their corneas. If they knew how much it would help others to see, then I'm sure that they would donate." |