INTRODUCTION

The cornea is the curved-clear lens on the front of the eye and is the first structure that light encounters as it enters the eye to form an image.  It does 80% of the focusing of light onto the retina (the film of the eye), and is therefore, the primary lens of the eye.

If the cornea becomes opaque, swollen, cloudy, or scarred, vision will become severely impaired.

CORNEAL TRANSPLANTATION PROCEDURE

A corneal transplant involves the removal of the damaged corneal tissue and replacement with a healthy, donated human cornea.  See the steps illustrated below.

Step 2: A clear cornea from a donor is then put in its place.

Step 3: The donor cornea is then secured in place with sutures that are about 1/3 the diameter of a human hair.

Because this procedure is a transplant of foreign tissue into the eye, rejection of the tissue by the immune system of the recipient is the greatest risk.  However, drugs can be used to hold back the rejection reaction both before it occurs and even after the fact.

WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR CORNEAL TRANSPLANTATION?

Corneal damage from many different sources can be treated with a transplant.  Some examples of conditions that can result in a transplant are:

• Corneal failure from other eye surgery

• Keratoconus

• Scarring after infections –particularly herpes

• Scarring after a physical injury

• Inherited diseases of the cornea

Flowers Vision Institute Expertise

Dr. Flowers is a fellowship-trained corneal transplant specialist, who has been performing corneal transplantation for over a decade.  He has written peer-reviewed research articles on this procedure, as well as taught other surgeons how to perform this procedure during his seven-year tenure as a Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.  During his years in practice, Dr. Flowers has had the privilege of restoring the sight of victims with a myriad of injuries to the cornea, including chemical burns to the cornea, lacerations of the cornea, herpetic infections of the cornea, and various inherited diseases of the cornea.  His expertise and surgical skill in the field of corneal transplantation has earned him recognition by the Consumer’s Research Council as one of the nation’s Top Ophthalmologist.

If you have sustained damage to your cornea and feel you may need a corneal transplant contact the Flowers Vision Institute today to schedule a consultation.

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