RIYADH: Bader Al-Qahtani, a Saudi doctor living in Ottawa, Canada, restored the eyesight of an elderly Canadian patient by carrying out a corneal transplant at the University of Ottawa Hospital recently.
The 70-year-old patient was reported to have visited the emergency room with severe corneal ulcers and had lost vision in one of her eyes.
Al-Qahtani, who specializes in corneal transplants, vision-correction operations, and cataract surgery, was called by the emergency team at the University of Ottawa Hospital.
“After controlling the infection with the proper antibiotics, corneal surgery with amniotic membrane transplant was done to optimize the quality of vision,” Al-Qahtani told Arab News.
He added, “No surgery is free of possible complications, but after a thorough discussion with the patient and her family, she agreed to proceed. The outcome was astonishing, and very emotional, as she regained her functional vision.”
After the successful surgery, the patient and her family wrote a letter to the chiefs of the hospital expressing their gratitude for the assistance they received.
Al-Qahtani’s success “reflects the level of training and knowledge we received in Saudi Arabia during medical school and training, which enable any Saudi doctor to meet international standards of patient care,” Al-Qahtani said.
He added: “Special thanks to Allah, and to the Saudi government who supported me to be in this position.”
The Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Canada — in the presence of Dr. Muhammad Al-Jabreen, the charge d’affaires at the Saudi Mission in Canada, presented Al-Qahtani with a certificate of appreciation for his excellent work on March 30.