What is Cornea Transplant Surgery and its procedures

The clear, transparent tissue, in front of the eye which (masks the eye to) covers the other portions namely the iris, pupil, and other parts is called the Cornea.
When you are feeling severe pain in your eyes, blurred vision, constant redness, or sense extreme sensitivity to light, you need to see a Cornea Specialist. These symptoms could be due to corneal scarring, tearing of tissues, allergies, infections or injury to the cornea, etc.

A Cornea Transplant (Keratoplasty) is a surgical procedure to replace a part of your cornea with corneal tissue from a donor. This procedure removes either the entire thickness or partial-thickness of the diseased cornea and replaces it with healthy donor tissue.

Before Cornea Transplant Surgery, the eye doctor conducts a thorough eye exam. The doctor looks for conditions that might cause complications after surgery. He takes the measurements of your eye to determine what size donor-cornea you need. All existing medications and supplements taken by you are reviewed. You may need to stop taking a few of them before or after the transplant. The doctor ensures treatment of other eye problems, if existing, as well.
Most of the time, these surgeries are done as outpatient procedures under local anaesthesia. This means the area is numbed by local anaesthesia and you are relaxed by giving a sedative or might be put to sleep. The doctor performs the entire surgery while examining through a microscope and it typically takes about 30 minutes to an hour.

Procedures to transplant a portion of the cornea include:

1. Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK)- A full-thickness cornea transplant: The eye-surgeon cuts through the entire thickness of the abnormal or diseased cornea to remove a small button-sized disk of corneal tissue. The healthy cornea cut-to-fit is placed in this opening. The surgeon then uses stitches or sutures to stitch the new cornea in place.
2. Endothelial Keratoplasty (EK)- This procedure removes the diseased tissue from the back corneal layers, including the endothelium and a thin layer of tissue that protects the endothelium from injury and infection (Descemet membrane). Donor tissue replaces the removed tissue.
3. Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (ALK)- In this, the diseased tissues are removed from the front corneal layers including the epithelium and the stroma. The cornea damage determines the type of ALK procedure that’s correct for you. Healthy tissue from a donor is then attached or grafted.
4. Artificial-cornea-transplant (Keratoprosthesis)- If people aren’t eligible for a Cornea Transplant from a donor cornea, they might receive an artificial cornea.

Once your cornea transplant is completed, you receive medications like eye drops or oral medications immediately after transplant, and during recovery this will help control infection, swelling, and pain. One must wear eye shields to protect the eye as it heals.

Most cornea transplant procedures are successful but carry a risk of complications, such as rejection of the donor cornea. Corneas used in cornea transplants come from people who have passed away. Your body’s immune system can mistakenly attack the donor cornea. This might require medical treatment. One must contact the eye doctor urgently if there are symptoms of rejection, such as loss of vision, eye pain, red-eyes, sensitivity to light. Rejection occurs in approximately 10% of cornea transplants.

Conditions that can be treated by a cornea transplant include an outward-bulging cornea (advanced keratoconus), Fuchs’ dystrophy, thinning or tearing of the cornea, Cornea-scarring, swelling in the cornea, Corneal Ulcers, etc.
Cornea Transplant is relatively safe. Still, it does bear a few risks such as Eye infection, increased eye pressure leading to glaucoma, problems with the stitches used to secure the donor cornea, bleeding, retinal problems, such as retinal detachment or swelling and others.
Most people who have received a cornea transplant will have their vision at least partially restored. As your eye adjusts to the new cornea, it may take time for your vision to improve. However, it gradually corrects vision problems like Refractive errors, such as near-sightedness and far-sightedness, etc.

Sharp Sight is a pioneer in eye care for over 20 years. It provides international quality clinical service standards. Sharp Sight has a team of the best Cornea Specialists. We provide the best Cornea Treatment especially for kids with dedicated paediatric ophthalmology services backed by expert ophthalmologists, clinical support & the latest technology. Book your appointment to seek the best eye care treatment. Other than Delhi, we have expanded our reach to various cities in India including Srinagar, Prayagraj, Patna, Asansol, Ranchi, Jhansi & Jammu.