Cornea Transplant (Conditions)

A cornea transplant, which replaces damaged tissue on the eye’s clear surface, also is referred to as a corneal transplant, keratoplasty, penetrating keratoplasty (PK) or corneal graft.

A cornea transplant replaces central corneal tissue, damaged due to disease or injury, with healthy corneal tissue donated from an eye bank. An unhealthy cornea affects your vision by scattering light and causing blurred or distorted vision. In some cases, a cornea can be so damaged or scarred that a transplant is necessary to restore your functional vision.

Cornea transplants are performed routinely. In fact, of all tissue transplants, the most successful is a corneal transplant. The National Keratoconus Foundation estimates that more than 40,000 cornea transplants are performed in the United States each year.

A new version of corneal transplant, known as Descemet's Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK), also has been introduced as a new surgical method that uses only a very thin portion of the cornea for transplant. In certain cases, this type of procedure may be preferred because it has advantages such as being less likely to create an irregular corneal surface (astigmatism) as a side effect.


Are you a candidate for a cornea transplant?

Your eye doctor may suggest a corneal transplant for reasons varying from diseases to eye injuries, which can include the following:

• Scarring from infections, such as eye herpes or fungal keratitis.
• Eye diseases such as keratoconus.
• Hereditary factors or corneal failure from previous surgeries.
• Thinning of the cornea and irregular shape (such as with keratoconus).
• Complications from LASIK.
• Chemical burns on the cornea or damage from an eye injury.
• Excessive swelling (edema) on the cornea.​​​​​​​

• Redness
• Extreme sensitivity to light
• Decreased vision
• Pain

Rejection signs may occur as early as one month or as late as five years after surgery. If you have complications with your corneal transplant, your doctor will prescribe medication that can reverse the rejection process. Should your graft fail, the corneal transplant can be repeated, generally with good results. Still, overall rejection rates increase with the number of corneal transplants you have.


Recovering from a cornea transplant

The total recovery time for a corneal transplant may be up to a year or longer. Initially, your vision will be blurry and the site of your corneal transplant may be swollen and slightly thicker than the rest of your cornea. As your vision is restored, you will gradually be able to return to your normal daily activities.

For the first several weeks, heavy exercise and lifting are prohibited. However, you should be able to return to work three to seven days after surgery, depending on your job. Steroid eye drops will be prescribed for several months to help your body accept the new corneal graft. You should keep your eye protected at all times by wearing a shield or a pair of eyeglasses so that nothing inadvertently bumps or enters your eye.

Stitches may be removed from three months to more than a year after surgery, depending on the health of your eye and the rate of healing. Adjustments may be made to the sutures surrounding the new cornea to help reduce the amount of astigmatism resulting from an irregular eye surface.


Your eyesight after a cornea transplant

Your vision will continue to improve up to one year following your surgery. But you will need glasses or contact lenses after surgery, because the curve of the corneal transplant cannot match exactly the curve of your natural cornea. After healing is complete and stitches are removed, it is possible to undergo laser vision correction (LASIK or PRK) to improve your vision and decrease your dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

Rigid gas permeable (RGP or GP) contact lenses often provide the best vision correction for corneal transplant patients due to the irregularity of the cornea after transplant.

Regardless of whether you need corrective eyewear, it’s wise to wear safety glasses after a cornea transplant to protect your eyes from injury.