Posted on September 12, 2001 at 4:34 p.m.

STORY:

One kind of injury likely to be seen from Tuesday’s horrific terrorist strikes in New York and Washington D.C. is severe eye trauma caused by flying glass, grit and debris from the collapsing buildings. Severe damage to the retina and other back of the eye structures is common following explosions. UAB ophthalmologist Dr. Robert Morris and his colleagues are world leaders in a treatment called temporary keratoprosthesis (TKP). TKP involves removing a damaged cornea and replacing it with a clear, artificial cornea made of the same material as a contact lens. This allows surgeons to see clearly into the vitreous and retina, facilitating the repair of damaged structures. Following repair of retinal tissues, a donor cornea is implanted to complete the work.

WHO:

Robert Morris, M.D. associate professor of ophthalmology at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital at UAB, is an international leader in eye trauma. He is the president of the International Society of Ocular Trauma and the head of the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education.

WHAT:

TKP was developed at Duke University in the 1970’s. UAB’s team, including Dr. Morris, Dr. Doug Witherspoon and Dr. Robert Phillips, have done more TKP procedures than any other facility in the world. In April of 2000, the team successfully performed a TKP procedure on Ellen Bomer, a survivor of the terrorist bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, restoring sight to one eye.

CALL:

Bob Shepard, UAB Media Relations, (205) 934-8934 or bshep@uab.edu. After hours, call (205) 934-3411 and ask for the Media Relations person on call.