Cornneal Transplant? More info needed. Anyone had one?!


Question: Cornneal Transplant? More info needed. Anyone had one?
My right eye was damaged 3 years ago due to the Herpes Simplex virus. The doctors managed to control it with medication and drops but 3 years on my sight has been permently damaged. I would say that i can see less than 50% out of the eye. Its like looking through tissue paper. At the time i was told how rare it was for someone of my age (19 at the time) to have such a bad infection in the eye. - I had never worn contact lenses and as for the Herpes Simplex id not even suffered from a cold sore in my life lol.

Anyway my only other option is to have a transplant. A new cornea grafted on. This worries me. Is this a major operation? Also am i right to believe that like any other transplant my eye could reject the new cornea?

Any help would be great.

oh i do wear glasses for distance but of course that doesnt correct the vision it the damaged eye.

Answers:

Cornea transplant surgery can be a difficult surgery with a long healing process. Yes, you could reject the transplant, but not like any other transplant. The cornea has no blood vessels, so you would not worry about that type of rejection. The donor cornea has to be healthy, and YOU have to take care of the transplant by doing everything the doctor tells you. Immediately afterwards, you will be in pain, but the level varies from each patient. You vision will be extremely blurry, red, teary etc. Your doctor will prescribe antibiotic drops and steroid anti-inflammatory drops. The doctor may have you on the steriod drops every one to two hours. USE YOUR DROPS!!. You may also be required to use artificial tears very frequently even though your eye is tearing, USE YOUR DROPS!. This will all contribute to the likihood of success. You will probbaly have to use the steroid drops long term to prevent cornel rejection.
At my clinic, transplant patient return every month to check the progress and have sutures removed. After a year, most of the sutures are removed and you might have good vision, depending on the level of astigmatism. Glasses our a gas-permeable contact lens would correct your vision to be almost as good as the other eye.
Good luck!!




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories