keratoplasty

La Keratoplasty is a surgical procedure that serves to replace an opacified cornea with one that is in good condition.

La cornea it is an eye structure that allows the passage of light from the outside world into the eye and protects the iris and lens. Some eye diseases, such as corneal edema, they can compromise corneal transparency, affect the functioning of the tissue and cause a loss of vision.

When the cornea is compromised, it may be necessary to perform a keratoplasty or corneal transplant, surgery that involves replacing damaged tissue with a new one from a donor. Anyone can undergo a cornea transplantIt is a fairly common surgery and the results are very good.

keratoplasty

La Keratoplasty is a surgical procedure that serves to replace an opacified cornea with one that is in good condition.

La cornea it is an eye structure that allows the passage of light from the outside world into the eye and protects the iris and lens. Some eye diseases, such as corneal edema, they can compromise corneal transparency, affect the functioning of the tissue and cause a loss of vision. 

When the cornea is compromised, it may be necessary to perform a keratoplasty or corneal transplant, surgery that involves replacing damaged tissue with a new one from a donor. Anyone can undergo a cornea transplantIt is a fairly common surgery and the results are very good.

What is keratoplasty?

La keratoplasty o cornea transplant is a Surgical treatment that has as aim to correct visual impairment and irreversible that is caused by corneal diseases and result in deterioration or corneal opacification.

The cornea transplant consists of replace damaged tissue with a healthy one that a donor has given and that comes from the eye bank. Before choosing the tissue and performing the transplant, it is necessary to carry out a series of studies on healthy tissue to verify that it is the most suitable and to be totally sure that the cornea transplant is the best existing option.

La keratoplasty is a fairly common surgery, more than you think, and usually done under the influence of Anesthesia local applied in drops. In some cases, or when the patient requests it, keratoplasty can be performed with local or general anesthesia.

The cornea transplant results are very good and one of the main advantages of this surgical intervention is that it is an outpatient surgeryIt lasts less than an hour and the patient can go home the same day after the intervention.

Types of keratoplasty

different types of keratoplasty or cornea transplant. Let's know what they are: 

penetrating keratoplasty

La penetrating keratoplasty is the most common type of corneal transplant and consists of replace the central part of the cornea completely for a new and healthy tissue.

Lamellar keratoplasty

Thanks to the scientific advances of ophthalmology today it is possible transplant one or several layers of the cornea selected according to the needs of each patient.

Lamellar transplantation can be performed with different techniques, since the procedure will depend on the layer to be transplanted.

That is why they differ types of lamellar keratoplasty:

  • Superficial anterior lamellar keratoplasty.
  • Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty.
  • DMEK posterior lamellar keratoplasty.
  • DSAEK posterior lamellar keratoplasty.

La lamellar keratoplasty is less aggressive than other types of corneal transplants, postoperative is also simpler, the visual recovery is faster and the risk of rejection is lower.

Conductive Keratoplasty or CK

This type of keratoplasty is very different from the previous ones.

Consists in insert the tip of a radiofrequency probe into the cornea which sends energy so that the tissue shrinks and its center becomes steeper.

This procedure is very safe, does not cause corneal scars and offers immediate results. However, not all corneal injuries can be corrected correctly or permanently with this type of keratoplasty.

keratoplasty

DMEK and DSAEK, two endothelial keratoplasty techniques

La endothelial keratoplasty is performed when the endothelium, corneal cell layer, is in poor condition and it is necessary to replace it with a healthy one.

The two endothelial keratoplasty techniques most used today are:

DSAEK

El DSAEK technique replace only the posterior layers of the cornea, the endothelium and the Descemet membrane, and preserve the rest of the structures.

With this technique, the ophthalmologist can predict the results of refractive defects such as astigmatism in a much more controlled way.

In this technique, the donor tissue is obtained through a keratotomy, which can be done through a microkeratome and, more recently, through a technique that uses the femtosecond laser so that the donor tissue and the recipient tissue fit together more evenly.

DMEK

The technique DMEK It has the same goal, replace the damaged endothelium with a healthy one, but it's a much more complex surgical process.

Endothelial replacement is performed selecting specifically the innermost layers of the cornea without affecting the middle layers. That is, work only on the affected tissue

under the technique DMEK, transplant only the diseased layer of the cornea (endothelium), the visual quality we get is usually better than with the DSAEK technique.

descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty or DMEK

When to perform a keratoplasty?

There are many corneal diseases, but not all of them are capable of damaging the tissue to trigger the need for that the patient needs a cornea transplant.

All the most common reasons why keratoplasty is performed are: 

  • The patient suffers a degenerative illness such as keratoconus or secondary ectasias. When the current treatment for these conditions has no effect, it will be necessary to opt for a corneal transplant. 
  • La corneal opacity or deformation Tissue caused by congenital diseases are other cases in which keratoplasty should be performed. 
  • Cornea infection after surgery or trauma.

Services

Cornea transplant is the most common organ transplant today and offers very good results.

Maybe the recovery after keratoplasty slow and progressive, but once the postoperative has ended, the person recover a good visual quality That endures over time. 

Patients with corneal opacity he completely recovered vision through a keratoplasty. And it is that the cornea trasoplante allows to improve visual acuity, remove the corneal pain and photophobia, offers a greater quality of life y improves eye function in many aspects.

Summary
Keratoplasty or cornea transplant. All you need to know.
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Keratoplasty or cornea transplant. All you need to know.
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Keratoplasty or cornea transplant is an intervention that replaces the damaged tissue of the cornea with a healthy one. We tell you what it consists of.
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Área Oftalmológica Avanzada
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