A young girl’s eyesight is improving thanks to innovative treatment at Evelina Children’s Hospital.
Three-year-old Khadija Chaudhry suffers from a rare form of blindness called LCA4 which has been untreatable until now.
But pioneering gene therapy, which involves inserting healthy gene copies into the eye, is giving kids hope of seeing again.
Khadija, who is from Hull, was just two when her parents noticed her eyes moving abnormally and her vision deteriorating.
Children born with the severe genetic eye condition known as LCA4 have profound visual impairment, and can only distinguish between light and dark.
Her dad Muhammad Muddassir, a doctor in infectious diseases, said: “Her eyesight was affecting her confidence and having her parents around reassured her, as her confidence dipped when she was by herself or in unfamiliar surroundings.”
Khadijah had both her eyes injected with the innovative treatment in two separate procedures at the specialist children’s hospital in Waterloo – an operation that took around one hour to complete.
Neruban Kumaran, lead surgeon for the treatment program, said it was “very promising” that Khadija’s parents had already noticed improvements to her vision.
The first procedure at Evelina London was undertaken by a surgical team including Neruban Kumaran from Evelina London, Roger Wong from St Thomas’ Hospital, and Chien Wong from Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Specialists from Evelina London Children’s Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital have joined forces to carry out the eye gene therapy.
A team at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital, led by Professor Robin Ali, with the support of the National Institute of Health Research and Moorfields Eye Charity are behind the revolutionary medical care.
The treatment has previously been given to a small number of children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.