Chinese doctors are touting a new medical procedure which can treat a form of macular degeneration.

A nurse prepares a cataract patient for an operation on the Lifeline Express in Chuxiong, Yunnan province. [Photo:Xinhua]

Doctors with the Third Military Medical University have developed a new procedure which can transplant stem-cells to treat hemorrhagic senile macular degeneration.

It's a condition which can lead to blindness.

Professor Yin Zhengqin with the University says the procedure involves a form of minor surgery.

"We're using a new technique, which involves removing the patient's damaged blood vessel in their eye. Then, we put in a retinal epithelial cell developed from the stem cell to the area of the eye where the blood vessel was removed. The procedure has found that after a few months of recovery, a patient's vision can recover to 0.15."

The new procedure has been conducted on 8 people so-far, with all of them able to maintain their eye sight.

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