Corneal Transplants and DSEK

The corneal transplant is one of medicine’s most successful transplant operations.

A corneal transplant may be the only hope for restoring vision when disease, injury, or hereditary conditions cause the cornea to lose its clarity.

Corneal transplantation involves removing the central area of the diseased cornea and replacing it with a clear donor cornea. A specialized instrument, similar to a cookie cutter, is used to remove the diseased cornea. The surgeon then uses stitches to secure the clear donor cornea in place. This takes between one and two hours and is an outpatient procedure. An eye patch and shield are used to protect the eye after surgery, but removed the next day.

Both Dr. Hubbe and Dr. Shatz have extensive subspecialty training in corneal transplantation.

In addition to the traditional technique described above, Drs. Hubbe and Shatz are now performing an innovative new cornea transplant technique. Rather than replace the entire conrea, this new technique replaces only the damaged cell layer of the cornea. The technique, known as Descemet’s Stripping with Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK), provides faster and stronger healing than traditional corneal transplant surgery. Changes in the focusing power of the eye are more predicatble with DSEKthan with traditional, full thickness corneal transplants.