Hope for Those with No Eye Sight

by Acibadem Healthcare Group

“Cornea Transplant” is popularly referred to as “eye transplant”. Thanks to the development of advanced techniques, this operation may be performed highly successfully in this day and age.

While it is possible to solve the cataract problem of the eye in the same session, tissue rejection may also be prevented to a great extent. Following a healing period of approximately one year, the patient is able to regain his/her eyesight.

The sun shining down on us bright and cheerful, green forests as far as the eye can take in. We can see all this beauty thanks to the cornea of our eye. The transparent layer covering the colourful parts of the eye is called the cornea. The beams which hit the eye are first refracted in the cornea and the transparency of this layer allows those beams to permeate to the posterior layers of the eye. However, when the cornea is afflicted with a problem, it becomes difficult, even impossible to see these beauties. In or day and age, a cornea which loses its transparency or gets deformed may be replaced with a healthy cornea obtained from an eye bank and eye sight may thus be restored. This procedure is called cornea transplant. Success rate varies depending on the reason for which cornea transplant is performed. Overall, success rate is generally over 90 per cent.

What kind of problem prompt people to apply for cornea transplant?
Cornea problems may afflict people of any age. If the cornea gets damaged by a problem such as an injury or infection, it may get blurred or suffer from loss of function. In the case of a damaged cornea, once light enters the eye, it causes deviations which impair the visual acuity of the person and may even feel painful. Consequently, the resulting eye problem has a negative impact on the life of the person suffering from this condition. Associate Professor Banu Coşar, an ophthalmologist at Acıbadem Eye Health Centre lists the most common reasons for performing cornea transplant in our country as follows: Keratoconus (a deformation whereby the cornea sharpens towards the anterior), pseudophacic bullose keratopathy (permanent cornea oedema following cataract operation) and cornea injuries. Hereditary diseases called dystrophy and cases where the cornea has lost its transparency are also treatable by cornea transplant. Advanced cases of herpetic lesions called herpetic keratitis may also necessitate cornea transplant.

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