Corneal Transplant Surgery

Binghamton Eye Doctor Serving Elmira, Corning, Ithaca, Syracuse, Cortland, & Oneonta, NY

Corneal problems can happen to anyone at any age. If something such as disease, injury, or infection damages the cornea, it can become cloudy or warped. The damaged cornea distorts light as it travels into the eye, affecting your vision. It may even cause you pain. The result: eye problems that can disrupt your life.

Transplants are the replacement of damaged or diseased tissue with healthy tissue or organs. The cornea was one first parts of the body to be transplanted, and corneal transplants remain one of the most common and most successful of all transplant eye surgery procedures. During the eye surgery procedure, part of a cloudy or warped cornea is replaced with a graft from a healthy cornea, which comes from an eye bank. If the eye surgery procedure is successful and the new cornea heals without problems, vision can be greatly improved.

Corneal problems can make seeing difficult. A damaged cornea, like a frosted or warped windowpane, distorts light as it enters the eye. The cornea can be damaged by disease, injury, infection, previous eye surgery, or other problems. Following are three common cornea problems that may be treated with corneal transplants. The cornea may change shape, pushing outward like a cone. This disease is known as keratoconus. A cone-shaped cornea distorts light as it travels into the eye. You may see blurry or multiple images. Keratoconus mainly a affects young adults; its cause is not known.

The cornea may be affected by previous eye surgery for another problem. After eye surgery, the cornea sometimes becomes swollen and cloudy. As a result, you might experience glare or see images that are blurry, faint or washed out. The swollen cornea may also develop painful blisters. The cornea may be injured by an infection, chemicals, fireworks or a sharp object. This injury can create scar tissue, which is difficult for light to penetrate. You may see very faint or distorted images, or only light and shadows.

To perform the eye surgery procedure, ophthalmologist, Dr. Sambursky uses delicate instruments and an operating microscope. During the corneal transplant, ophthalmologist, Dr. Sambursky removes a round portion of your own problem cornea and replaces it with a portion of a clear donor cornea. The new cornea is stitched into place using very thin nylon thread. These sutures (stitches) are barely visible and don’t cause pain, although you might feel scratching or irritation for about a week after the eye surgery.

If you think you may have a corneal disease or problem, please contact ophthalmologist, Dr. Sambursky today to schedule your eye surgery exam!