Corneal Transplants

Serving you in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and the surrounding areas.

YOUR VISION IS OUR PRIORITY

What is corneal transplant surgery?

A corneal transplant substitutes diseased or scarred corneal tissue with healthy tissue from an organ donor.

Healthy corneal tissue that is donated from a local eye bank replaces damaged central corneal tissue. A healthy cornea is important to have because it affects your vision by scattering or distorting light and causing blurred vision and glare. A corneal transplant may be necessary to restore your eye vision. The fourth most common cause of blindness is corneal eye disease and affects more than 10 million people in the world. It is after just cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Since 1961, more than one million people have had their eye sight restored with this procedure.

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When Do You Need a Cornea Transplant?

A healthy, clear cornea is necessary for great vision. Here are some factors to know if you should get a cornea transplant:

If your cornea got damaged due to eye disease or an eye injury, it can become scarred, swollen or severely misshapen and distort your vision.
In cases of conditions such as trichiasis, where eyelashes turn inward and rub against the surface of the eye, causing scarring and vision loss.
If eyeglasses or contact lenses do not restore your functional vision.

Certain conditions can affect the clarity of your cornea and put you at greater risk of corneal failure. These include:

Scarring from infections, such as eye herpes
Hereditary conditions such as Fuchs’ dystrophy.
Eye diseases.
Complications from LASIK surgery.
Chemical burns of the cornea or damage from an eye injury.
Corneal failure due to cataract surgery complications.

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New Vision After a Cornea Transplant

Your eyesight should slowly improve a few weeks after a corneal graft, but it could take a couple of months up to a year to have full stable vision in the eye that receives the donor tissue. It is possible to undergo LASIK eye surgery to improve your eye vision after your cornea transplant has been fully healed. You will be left with a minor degree of nearsightedness and astigmatism, because the curve of the new corneal tissue cannot match exactly the curve of your natural corneal.