At Semmelweis University, plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists performed an operation where a 15-centimeter nerve was removed from the patient’s lower leg and implanted between a sensory nerve and the cornea so that the patient could regain the cornea’s sensory function. The operation, Semmelweis University says,was the first of its kind in Hungary.

According to the University, the patient had been suffering from recurrent, nonhealing corneal ulcers due to nerve damage caused by a central nervous system tumor, and had previously undergone three eye surgeries to achieve healing of the ulcers and epithelization of the cornea as well as to prevent further deterioration of vision. Since then, the ulcer has not returned — the team was able to prevent the patient from losing her vision completely, the University said.

For more on the operation and to see images from the surgery, visit: https://tinyurl.com/bdex3pen.