Corneal transplant surgery
What is the cornea?
The cornea is the clear window at the front of the eye.
It is the part of the eye that performs most of the focusing of light for the eye.
To have good vision, a transparent cornea with a smooth, regular shape is required.
What is a corneal transplant?
A corneal transplant is an operation in which your cornea is replaced with a cornea from a deceased person who has donated their cornea.
Why would I need a corneal transplant?
If a disease or injury affects the transparency or smoothness of the surface of the cornea, the quality of vision will be affected. In such cases, a corneal transplant may be required to restore vision.
Are there different types of corneal transplants?
Penetrating Keratoplasty
A Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK) is a corneal transplant in which the full thickness of cornea is removed from the recipient and replaced with a new cornea from a donor.
This new transplant is sutured (“stitched”) in place using very fine sutures so small they are very difficult to see with the naked eye.
Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK)
A Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) is a type of corneal transplant where the front 95% of the cornea is replaced with healthy donor tissue, while the patient’s innermost corneal layer (the endothelium) is left intact.
Benefits of DALK compared with a traditional full-thickness corneal transplant (Penetrating Keratoplasty, PK):
- Greatly reduced risk of transplant rejection by the immune system
- Lower chance of developing raised eye pressure (glaucoma) in the weeks and months after surgery
- Reduced risk of bleeding during the operation
Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK)
In some diseases, only the inside layer (endothelium) is affected, causing corneal oedema (swelling) and clouding.
DMEK is a modern type of corneal transplant operation in which the inside layer of your cornea (endothelium) is replaced with the inside layer from a donor cornea through a small incision (opening).
The endothelium from the donor (transplant or graft) is inserted and pressed in position against the back of your cornea by a bubble of gas.
You can see a DMEK corneal transplant being performed here.