What is a CORNEAL GRAFT?

Corneal graft surgery aims to replace the hazy cornea with a clear donor cornea. The aim of this is to provide improved vision and/or a stable eye surface.

Donor cornea
The cornea graft is from another person who has kindly donated their tissue for transplantation. All material has been cleared by the Queensland Eye Bank for transmissible diseases such as Hepatitis B & C, AIDS, syphilis.

The Operation
Corneal surgery can be performed under a local or general anaesthetic. A round blade called a trephine is used to cut the patient’s diseased cornea. The donor cornea is then harvested from the donated eye and stitched into the patient’s eye with a very fine Nylon suture one tenth of a human hair. This suture usually remains for 12 months after which the suture will need to be removed.

Post-Operation
You will be on 2 types of medications – a steroid and an antibiotic. Initially you will be using it quite frequently eg every 2-3 hours during the day for the first month. The drops are then tapered according to recovery over the next 2 months. Some patients may require longer term drops, particularly if they have had previous graft surgery

Complications
Generally graft surgery is very good, however with any surgery there are always risks. These include infection, bleeding and reduced vision. Specific to graft surgery there is the risk of rejection of the corneal graft, as it is tissue from a donor. If this occurs, treatment in the form of drops need to be commenced as soon as possible. Generally it is possible to reverse the rejection, however if rejection recurs multiply, it can result in failure of the graft which turns cloudy. In this circumstance the graft will need to be replaced. Astigmatism (irregular curvature of the cornea) occurs in all grafts to a varying degree. This can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. It will change when the suture is removed after 12 months.

Recovery
Most corneal graft patients take 2-3 weeks off post-operation, depending on the type of occupation they perform. Bending, lifting heavy items and straining should be avoided in the first 2 weeks. Swimming should be avoided whilst on the steroid drops, as there is an increased risk of eye infection. The visual recovery is gradual over the first few months. The final visual outcome will occur about the sutures are removed at 1 year. Most patients will require glasses and occasionally contact lenses to achieve best vision.

Corneal Graft

For more information please click here to download the Corneal Transplantation booklet

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