Cornea transplant surgery is an eye surgery to replace diseased corneal tissue with healthy tissue. The transplanted healthy tissue is taken from an organ donor. This eye surgery is of two types: penetrating keratoplasty and endothelial keratoplasty. Eye disease of the cornea is among the causes of blindness, along with other eye diseases such as cataract and glaucoma. This eye surgery is performed for treating cornea eye diseases and for restoring functional vision of the eye. In this eye surgery, a graft taken from a donor or a local eye bank is used to replace the damaged corneal tissue.
Keratoconus: A Degenerative Disorder
Cornea transplant is required in advanced eye diseases like keratoconus, hereditary diseases, eye injury, infection, and corneal failure due to complications arising in cataract surgery. Keratoconus is an eye disease in which the cornea gets thinner and its shape becomes irregular. Keratoconus is a very common problem in the U.S. Keratoconus can cause swelling of the corneal tissue and sight impairment.
Patients with a family history of keratoconus often suffer from keratoconus. If keratoconus surgery is unable to treat the affected cornea, a cornea transplant surgery may be required. Alternatives like contact lenses can be used in case of early and advanced stages of keratoconus. Majority of patients affected by keratoconus have shown an improvement in vision when they use contact lenses.
Recovery from a Transplant Surgery
Recovery from a cornea transplant eye surgery may take a year or longer. The vision may be blurry during the first few months of this eye surgery and may worsen later in some cases. With improvement of vision after a transplant, the eye may need some time to adapt to the new tissue. A patient normally requires a week after the transplant surgery to be able to perform normal activities. Heavy exercise and lifting should be avoided during this period. A surgeon may prescribe medication and sterile eye drops after a transplant surgery to minimize infection and swelling that may occur after the transplant.
The damage to corneal tissue may be a result of eye injury or an eye disease such as a cataract. This eye surgery has a high success rate. Risks associated with this eye surgery may include graft rejection, infection, and problems with the stitches used. Research shows that corneal disorder with a prior cataract eye surgery increases the risk of graft rejection. These signs of rejection may take a month to several years to appear. In case of graft rejection, this eye surgery may need to be repeated.
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