Cornea Surgery Specialist

The cornea is the central clear surface of the eye and is affected by many different disorders. Keratoconus, Fuch’s dystrophy, corneal ulcers and dry eye are some of the common conditions that can affect the cornea.

A corneal transplant procedure involves removing a portion of the diseased cornea and replacing it with healthy corneal tissue from a human donor. The cornea has five layers and different diseases affect different layers of the cornea. There are several different types of corneal transplants which are performed depending on which layer of the cornea is problematic. The oldest corneal transplant procedure is a PKP (penetrating keratoplasty) where all of the layers of the cornea are replaced. DALK (deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty) surgery replaces the top three layers of the cornea. DSEK (Descemets stripping endothelial keratoplasty) and DMEK (Descemets membrane endothelial keratoplasty) surgery transplants just the innermost layer of the cornea in conditions such as Fuchs dystrophy.

Corneal transplants are often recommended for patients whose corneal disease has resulted in vision loss which is interfering with daily activities. As with any major surgery, there are risks and benefits of corneal transplants that your corneal specialist can discuss in detail with you.