Cornea Transplants & Procedures
Some conditions are best treated with a surgery or in office procedure. These include corneal transplants, removing growths from the surface of the eye, and smoothing an irregular cornea.
Click on each procedure for a detailed printer friendly handout.
For corneal edema caused by Fuch's dystrophy and other disorders, a single layer of your cornea can be removed and replaced with a single layer of a donor cornea (Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty). This ultra-thin graft offers quicker recovery and can be combined with cataract surgery in certain cases.
Similar to the DMEK, Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty is also a partial thickness transplant that can be used to treat certain causes of corneal edema. In both procedures, an air or gas bubble is placed in the eye to help the new cornea attach while you lay on your back for a few days after surgery.
A full thickness PK can treat many corneal conditions including scarring, keratoconus, corneal edema, infections, and corneal perforation when the disease affects all layers of the cornea. The donor cornea is secured with several sutures that are removed slowly over months to years.
These benign growths of the conjunctiva that spread onto the cornea from UV exposure can be removed in the operating room. In order to decrease the risk of recurrence, a conjunctival autograft (taking a piece of the skin of the eye from the unaffected part of the same eye) can be used to close the remaining defect.
This is the only FDA approved treatment for the progression of Keratoconus. Vitamin B drops and UV light prevents the cornea from becoming more steep and prevents complications of keratoconus, including need for corneal transplant.
Scars, growths, foreign bodies, and some infections can be debrided or removed from the surface of the cornea in the office or in the operating room, depending on the extent.
Get your vision back!
After your in office evaluation, your doctor can help you decide if a corneal procedure is an option for you to see and feel better.