We have good news for people who have damaged cornea and want to have better vision! Cornea transplant has become easier and quicker and is the most common and most successful transplant procedure.
Keratoplasty, also called cornea transplant or cornea grafting, is a surgical intervention to remove part or entirety of the cornea and replace it with new, healthy donor tissue. The cornea is the front part of the eye that facilitates the passage of light.
Interestingly, ophthalmologists have been performing this procedure for 100 years. Therefore, it’s certainly not a new innovation by any means!
Types of keratoplasty include penetrating keratoplasty (PK), deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK), and endothelial keratoplasty (EK). Your doctor will choose the right type for your case depending on which part of the cornea is damaged.
Keratoplasty may be able to restore or improve your vision after developing a disease that damages your cornea. In short, below are the benefits of this surgery:
Despite being a delicate procedure, ophthalmologists can perform keratoplasty in outpatient facilities, and only need less than 2 hours to complete it under local anesthesia. Here is a brief overview of its steps:
Your doctor is going to operate on your eye using a microscope and will start the surgery by removing or cutting a circular piece from your damaged cornea using a cookie cutter-like knife called a trephine.
Next, your doctor will use another similar knife to cut and remove a piece from the donor cornea.
Finally, your doctor replaces the recipient’s cornea with the donor cornea and uses fine sutures to sew it into place.
Keratoplasty is a safe procedure but it’s still carrying some risks and potential side effects. For instance, organ rejection can occur in about 1 out of 10 patients. This happens when your body’s immune system attacks the donated cornea. Other side effects include:
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Our team of consultants is here to answer your questions and provide guidance throughout your treatment journey.
Our partner hospitals and clinics have successfully performed thousands of procedures for patients from Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East.
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– The cornea is a thin, transparent layer at the front of the eye.
– It helps you focus on the image so that it appears clear and visible.
– Improve vision
– Reduce pain
– Improve the outer appearance of the cornea if its color has turned to white or if any wound or scars.
The doctor might recommend patients with the following eye diseases to undergo a corneal transplant:
– Keratitis
– Keratoconus
– Corneal ulcers
– Thinning or clouding of the cornea
– Corneal swelling
– Penetrating keratoplasty.
– Partial keratoplasty.
– Keratoplasty (only the affected corneal lining is removed).
The patient needs several weeks or a few months until the wound heals and vision improves and returns to normal.