Corneal transplant

What is Corneal Transplant

A cornea transplant is an operation to remove all or part of a damaged cornea and replace it with healthy donor tissue.

A cornea transplant is often referred to as keratoplasty or a corneal graft.

It can be used to improve sight, relieve pain and treat severe infection or damage.

One of the most common reasons for a cornea transplant is a condition called keratoconus, which causes the cornea to change shape.

What is the cornea and what does it do?

The cornea is the clear outer layer at the front of the eyeball. It acts as a window to the eye.

The coloured iris and the pupil (the black dot in the centre of the iris) can be seen through the cornea.

The cornea helps to focus light rays on to the retina (the light-sensitive film at the back of the eye). This “picture” is then transmitted to the brain.

When the cornea is damaged, it can become less transparent or its shape can change.

This can prevent light reaching the retina and causes the picture transmitted to the brain to be distorted or unclear.

How is a transplant carried out?

The type of cornea transplant you have will depend on which part of the cornea is damaged or how much of the cornea needs replacing.

The options include:

• penetrating keratoplasty (PK) – a full-thickness transplant
• deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) – replacing or reshaping the outer and middle (front) layers of the cornea
• endothelial keratoplasty (EK) – replacing the deeper (back) layers of the cornea

A cornea transplant can be carried out under general anaesthetic (where you’re unconscious) or local anaesthetic (where the area is numbed and you’re awake).

The surgery usually takes less than an hour and, depending on your circumstances, you either leave hospital the same day or stay overnight.

If surgery involves the transplantation of the outer cornea, the new outer cornea is held in place with stitches, which usually stay in for more than 12 months.

An endothelial transplant (EK) does not require stitches. It’s held in place by an air bubble until a few days later, when it naturally sticks to the deep layer of the cornea.