CORNEA CLINIC

Full-thickness transplants (also called penetrating keratoplasty) is the most commonly performed corneal transplant procedure. If you suffer from keratoconus or corneal scarring and have exhausted all other forms of treatment, this procedure will most likely be recommended.
The cornea has five layers. Surgery involves cutting through all five corneal layers to remove the damaged or diseased section. The donor cornea, usually about the size of a small button, is then gently positioned onto the host bed and stitched into place. The stitches are removed at a later date.

If some of the corneal layers are undamaged or free from disease, a partial thickness corneal transplant may be advised. In this case, only the affected layers are removed. The surgeon does not cut through the entire thickness of the cornea. These layers are replaced with layers of healthy donor tissue.

The anterior lamellar procedure is called DALK and is indicated in severe advanced keratoconus and corneal scarring. The posterior lamellar procedures are DSEK, DMEK in which only endothelial layer is replaced. This is indicated in conditions like Bullous Keratopathy. There are various advantages of lamellar procedures like low risk of graft rejection and failure

A novel procedure known as C3R (corneal collagen crosslinking with riboflavin) is done in patients of keratoconus to prevent disease progression and worsening. This is followed by prescribing RGP contact lenses 4-6 weeks later to improve quality of vision in such patients as spectacles are not suitable for most cases.

Pterygium is a wing shaped encroachment of conjunctiva over the cornea mostly seen in men working outdoors. This is a very common condition which needs surgery as no medication can regress the growth.

The procedure of choice is pterygium excision with a conjunctival autografting which can either be sutured or glued over the defect to prevent recurrences.