Corneal Surgery

One of the key corneal surgery procedures is Corneal Transplants which are used to treat keratoconus. There are two types of corneal transplants used:

• Deep lamellar keratoplasty (DLK)
  This removes the diseased cornea but leaves behind the healthy posterior layer (the endothelium). The diseased corneal layer is replaced by a healthy cornea from a donor.
• Full-thickness or penetrating Keratoplasty
  This is performed if there has been damage to the posterior layer (the hydrops). The whole cornea is replaced with a donor cornea.

Both types of transplants are sutured into place. Corneal transplants for keratoconus are very successful treatments. They have up to a 96% survival at five years after surgery however the transplant may take 12-18 months to ‘bed in’.