Corneal Transplant in India
Corneal transplant is also called Corneal Grafting or Keratoplasty, replacing damaged or diseased cornea with a healthy cornea by donor to restore vision by a cornea transplant surgeon.
The cornea is transparent portion on the front part of eye ball. It consists of five layers of tissue; the outer layer is made of high regenerating cells of epithelium and this helps the eye to recover itself from varied wounds and injuries. There are two middle layers present in this which function in strengthening and providing the structure to be in stable form, and the two layers which are inside perform in offering optical clarity to us. Cornea is also act as a lens to allow light rays to focus on retina.
The cornea must be clear for anyone to have vision properly. Clouding or degeneration of cornea may be caused by many reasons, such as any infection or injury to the eye, degenerations, dystrophies of the cornea, Keratoconus disorder or many other reasons.
Corneal Transplant is the only hope for those patient whose cornea gets opaque or damaged. by replacing damaged cornea with healthy corneal tissue by a surgery in order to restore vision in patient eye.
Types of Corneal Transplant in India
Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK) : Penetrating cornea transplant is full thickness transplant. This involves transplanting all the layers of the cornea from the donor.
Endothelial Keratoplasty : A latest type of corneal transplant surgery called endothelial keratoplasty (EK) which is the choice in certain corneal conditions – this involve only replacing some of the layers of the cornea with the transplant.
Success rates of Corneal Transplants in India
The Cornea Transplant surgery is one of the most efficient and successful organ transplant surgeries in India which is also depends upon the extent damage to the eye. The corneal transplant success rates are as high as 95 %.
Donor Cornea for Corneal Transplant in India
In India, the corneal transplant surgeons or centres get the cornea from an eye bank, which stores the cornea of deceased person individuals pledge to donate their eyes after his or her death. A eye bank store cornea of deceased person up to maximum of 4 days after the death of the donor – this also depends upon the mode of preservation.
Recovery after a Corneal Transplant
The improvement in vision usually takes several months after the corneal transplant. Mostly is takes more than a year to get back or heal properly.