‘No one has ever done such eye surgeries at once’
Kazan scientists have created a new method of treating the consequences of paresis of the facial nerve of the eye
Kazan scientists together with colleagues from Kazakhstan have prescribed a new method of treating the consequences of paresis of the facial nerve of the eye. They patented the created method and successfully apply it in practice. As Realnoe Vremya found out, the development gives the opportunity to treat the disease by one doctor and reduce the time for surgery. The medical service is provided to patients free of charge, although in a private clinic.
New method makes it possible to correct the consequences of facial nerve damage
The developers of the method are scientists from the Kazan Federal University Murat Niyazov, Sergey and Daniil Zinchenko, as well as their colleagues from Kazakhstan Valery Benberin, Nasrulla Shanazarov, and Andrey Avdeev. The development was patented in 2021. And the works are still underway on it.
In the project documentation, which is at the disposal of Realnoe Vremya, it is indicated that the practice is used in medicine, it relates to oncology, surgery, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology. During the operation, the skin and mucous membranes are treated with antiseptics, the allocation of skin incisions, weight gain or general anesthesia; from arched skin lesions in the brow region, while the lower incision of inflammation along the edge of the hairy part of the eyebrow, and accordingly the upper incision develops, retreating from the transverse incision of 1,5-2 cm, depending on the degree of lowering of the eyebrows the patient. At the same time, the healthy side of the face serves as a guide for detecting the excised flap.
Technical result: the method makes it possible to correct the consequences of damage to the facial nerve in later stages after the end of specialised treatment with chemoradiotherapy, in the presence of scar tissue fibrosis and atrophy of facial muscles.
The method gives the opportunity to achieve aesthetic and functional results, provides the possibility of surgical intervention under local anesthesia. Correction in patients can be carried out without the use of expensive microsurgical equipment. Subsequently, it is possible to carry out repeated corrective interventions, regardless of the severity of the scarring process, post-radiation fibrosis.
“Thanks to the method, an operation can be performed by one person and at once”
Realnoe Vremya contacted the main developer of this method — the head of the ophthalmology course at the KFU, Niyaz Muratov. He said that he has been engaged in ophthalmology and eyelid surgery for a long time, both aesthetic and reconstructive. The doctor has certificates of ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon. Since the number of patients with complex cases who have facial nerve paresis in the paraorbital zone of the face began to grow in his practice, he decided to develop his own treatment method.
“In such cases, it is necessary to restore the position of the eyebrow, eyelids, because all these hang down, the eye does not close, the lower eyelid is very open. As a result, the eyes are watery, dry. This causes discomfort and can result in an eyesore of the cornea of the eye. The method of treatment of such diseases consists in carrying out three to five operations. Previously, they were performed by different specialists, some elements of the operation were performed by ophthalmologists, and some — by maxillofacial or plastic surgeons. They, for example, did the raising of the eyebrows or zygomatic zone, and the restoration of the position of the lower eyelid was done by ophthalmologists. But since I have certificates in two directions, I decided: why divide such cases into many operations if one specialist can do everything at once," Muratov explained.
According to him, the method is convenient for both the doctor and the patient. Everyone wins — the operation is materially cheaper and faster in time. He adds that no one has done such operations at once yet.
“Thanks to the method, the operation can be performed by one person at once," the ophthalmologist said.
Muratov added that the operation by his method is carried out so far only in the network of his clinics. Since the doctor is writing a dissertation on it, it is carried out for free. Usually, such operation costs about 50 thousand rubles, and it lasts about 1-1,5 hours.
“No one from the state clinics was interested in this method, because no one in ophthalmology likes to do eyelid reconstructive surgery. Since there are operations that are faster and there are results in the coming days. And with such patients, which I deal with, I have to spend a lot of time on them, everything heals for a long time. Besides, in some moments during such operations, ophthalmologists do not understand, since this refers to the specialisation of facial surgeons. And plastic surgeons don't like to work with eyelids. Therefore, there are few surgeons who are engaged in reconstructive surgery of the eyelids and the periorbital region of the eyes," the scientist concluded.