Cornea is the anterior clear tissue of the eye letting light enter into the eye and allowing us to see clearly.
Injuries, infections as well as many hereditary conditions may cause clouding, distortion or even scarring of the cornea.
If the cornea becomes cloudy light cannot pass through the eye and reach the retina. This results in visual impairment or even blindness.
A permanent opacity of the central corneal axis can only be cured by cornea transplant, ie the replacement of the affected cornea with the cornea of a human donor.
Cornea transplant is the replacement of the cornea or part of the cornea by the cornea of a donor.
The results of cornea transplant are better compared to the transplantation of other types of tissue such as renal tissue, heart tissue etc. due to the absence of vascularisation and antigen-antibody reaction that leads to graft rejection.
This procedure is performed under local or general anesthesia. After removing the damaged cornea using a special cutting instrument the donor’s cornea is placed and sewn into place. Patients leave hospital on the same day having received instructions and medication mainly aiming to prevent eye contamination and graft rejection. Stitches are gradually removed from the 5th postoperative month onwards until complete healing that may take a little more than 1 year.