Programs and Services
Cornea/External Eye Disease Service
The cornea is the clear circle of tissue that acts as the eye’s “front window.” It allows light to enter the eye and also provides most of the eye’s focusing power. Because of this key role, diseases that affect the cornea can have a huge impact on vision. At the Eye Institute, major effort is devoted to caring for this important part of the eye.
Injuries, scarring, swelling, severe infections and a host of other external eye diseases can affect the shape or the transparency of the cornea. The result is blurred or distorted vision. Typical treatments for cornea problems include artificial tears, topical medications, specialty contact lenses and bandage lenses. When damage to the cornea is severe, however, the only avenue is a cornea transplant. Fortunately, this outpatient procedure is among the most successful transplant operations performed.
First, the patient is made completely comfortable with a sedative and local anesthetics. Next, the surgeon removes the central part of the damaged cornea using an instrument that resembles a tiny cookie cutter. He or she then replaces it with a donor cornea and sutures it into place. The patient wears a patch for one day and frequent follow-up monitoring lasts for several weeks.
Eye Institute physicians are evaluating new ways to treat cornea problems. One is exploring a less-invasive approach to corneal transplant surgery. Another is the Deep Lamellar Endothelial Keratoplasty (DLEK), a form of corneal transplantation in which only the diseased back layer of the cornea (endothelium) is replaced by donor tissue. This procedure is best suited for patients with Fuchs' dystrophy or corneal edema following cataract surgery and offers a number of advantages over standard full-thickness corneal transplantation. Deep Lamellar Endothelial Keratoplasty may be performed without sutures and offers much faster visual recovery, less astigmatism and less chance of spectacle lens imbalance or contact lens correction following surgery.
Author: Dale K. Heuer, MD Date: Sept. 14, 2004 |