Cornea Transplant Surgery abroad in India,cost Cornea Transplant Surgery India,Cornea Transplant Surgery hospitals India,Cornea Transplant Eye surgeon

1. Corneal Transplant Surgery In India At Mumbai and Delhi
At Low Cost
The cornea is the tissue on the very front of the eye. It is clear and covers
the iris and pupil. It works with the lens to provide focusing power to the
eye. If the cornea becomes opaque, swollen, or scarred, vision is
compromised.
Medication to control the damage to the cornea is usually the first line of
treatment, but once it is clear that medication will not halt or alter the damage, a corneal
transplant is considered. This surgical procedure involves the removal of the damaged tissue and
replacement with a healthy, donated human cornea.
Because this procedure is a transplant of foreign tissue into the eye, rejection of the tissue by the
immune system of the recipient is the greatest risk. However, drugs can be used to hold back the
rejection reaction both before it occurs and even after the fact. Despite the availability of
immunosuppressive drugs, the rejection rate for corneal transplants remains between 5 to 30% of
the time.
• What are the most common benefits of this surgery ?
• What will happen at the initial consultation?
• How is the procedure performed?
• How long does the surgery take?
• Where will the procedure be performed?
• How much pain is there?
• What can I expect after the procedure?
• What is the recovery period like?
• What is the long-term outcome like for most people?
• Ideal Candidate
• Other important information
• Risks and Limitations
• Cost
• Questions to ask your doctor
What are the most common benefits of this surgery ?
The transplanted tissue will enable the patient to regain much of the eyesight lost by the
condition which damaged the patient's own cornea. The surgery can also eliminate symptoms
due to the corneal condition. Because this procedure is performed only after medicines and other
treatments have failed, it is the final method of providing relatively normal eyesight to someone
having serious vision problems due to damage to their cornea.

2. What will happen at the initial consultation ?
Once your ophthalmologist have determined you need a corneal transplant he or she will perform
a full physical to determine whether you have any conditions or are taking any medications that
might affect the surgery. He or she will then arrange for you to be put on the list of persons
waiting for corneal transplant tissue. At We Care India partner Eye Hospital, your connea
transplant will be done immediately, with no wait list.
How is the procedure performed?
The transplant procedure involves removing the diseased or damaged tissue, then replacing it
with the donor tissue. The entire operation is done under a surgical microscope. After taking
measurements of the amount of tissue to be removed, the diseased corneal is cut and lifted away
from the eye with a special round tool that works much like a cookie cutter called a trephine.
Once the damaged tissue is removed, the donor cornea is cut to a matching size and placed on
the patient's eye. It is held in place with very fine stitches using suture material that is about as
thin as a hair.
If there is also a cataract present, this can be removed at the same time and replaced with an
intraocular lens. At the conclusion of the corneal transplant procedure, a patch and a metal shield
are place over the eye to protect it.
How long does the surgery take ?
The operation usually lasts between 1 and 2 hours.
Where will the procedure be performed ?
The procedure is performed in an operating room of a hospital.
How much pain is there ?
The surgery is painless due to the administration of a local anesthetic at the beginning. Some
patients may be given general anesthesia, particularly if their overall medical condition is in
question. Most pain medicine should be able to control any residual pain present during the

3. recovery period.
What can I expect after the procedure ?
If the procedure is performed under local anesthesia, you can go home after a short stay in the
recovery area. You will need someone to drive you home. The use of general anesthesia will
delay your leaving by about two additional hours, to make sure the effects are wearing off.
After the procedure it is important to use the eye drops as prescribed, to not rub or press on the
eye, to use over-the-counter pain medication, reduce exercise until healed, use the eye shields
and patches as direct by your doctor, and not to drive until given approval.
What is the recovery period like ?
The recovery period for corneal transplants is rather long. The stitches will remain in the eye for
six to twelve months after the surgery. Eye drops will have to be used while the stitches are in
place to assure proper healing.
An extremely important part of the recovery period is constant vigilance as to signs of rejection.
Rejection occurs in 5-30% of all transplants and there is an increased risk if this operation is a
second transplant after rejection of an initial one. If the rejection is noticed early, medication can
be administered that will halt the reaction and save the transplant. Rejection occurs because the
body's immune system recognizes the donor tissue as foreign and mounts a response against it.
This damages the tissue such that it can no longer maintain the fluid balance, causing it to swell
and lose clarity. Although the tissue will not fall out of the eye upon rejection, another transplant
may be necessary to replace the tissue if too much damage occurs.
There are four signs of rejection that can be remembered by the mnemonic RSVP: redness,
sensitivity to light, decreased vision, or pain. Any of these four symptoms, experienced after the
initial healing period, should be reported to your ophthalmologist immediately.
What is the long-term outcome like for most people ?
Vision will return slowly after the operation, with final improvements seen as far out as a year
after it is performed. If there are no other conditions to complicate the recovery, the chances for
greatly improved vision as compared to before the surgery are very good. Often lenses are
necessary to correct astigmatism (irregular curvature) of the transplanted tissue, but these
problems are minor compared to the vision issues present with the damaged cornea. The final
result statistics are highly dependent on the cause of the damage to the original cornea -- with
rates around 90-95% success treating corneal diseases such as keratonconus, and much lower
rates for other problems, in the range of 5%-10% with lye burns.

4. However, even for persons suffering from chemical burns there is hope. A new technique has
been developed that involves the transplantation of stem cells from a donor to grow a new
surface over the removed damage cells. Then a standard transplant is done. This modification has
greatly improved results for persons suffering from chemical damage.
The greatest threat to satisfactory long-term vision is rejection of the corneal transplant.
Rejection is most common during the first year after the procedure but can occur at any time
after the transplant, even years later. However, if a patient carefully watches for the signs of
rejection, many reactions can be controlled with medication. In very rare cases, the disease that
affected the original tissue will reoccur in the transplanted cornea.
Ideal Candidate
Corneal damage from many different sources can be treated with a transplant.
Some examples of conditions that can result in a transplant are : -
• corneal failure after other eye surgery
• Keratoconus -- a disease involving abnormal curvature of the cornea
• inherited corneal diseases
• scarring after infections -- particularly herpes
• rejection of a first transplant
• scarring after a physical injury.
Whatever the source of the damage, an ideal candidate has explored pharmaceutical treatments to
these problems and they have been eliminated in their case. The vision from the diseased cornea
should be so affected as to justify the risks inherent in a transplant procedure.
Other important information
Research is currently being conducted into an oral vaccine that appears to significantly reduce
the amount of rejection of corneal transplants. Although this work was done in mice, it is being
attempted in humans and might be something you would want to discuss with your
ophthalmologist, particularly if this transplant is following up an earlier rejection.
Risks and Limitations

5. The greatest risk with corneal transplants is rejection, although this can be treated with
immunosuppressive medicine if caught in the early stages. Other risks that are much less
prevalent but do occur are infection, bleeding, swelling or detachment of the retina, or glaucoma.
All of these medical complications can be treated. Another type of problem that can happen with
the transplant is an irregular curvature (astigmatism) that can slow the development of clear
vision. This can be treated with Rigid contact lenses.
Corneal transplants are most successful if the damaged cornea is the sole vision problem in the
eye. If other damage is present, particularly if due to a continuing condition, such as diabetes,
vision can remain compromised even after the transplant. However, if the vision quality is
improved, it may make sense to undergo the transplant despite the knowledge that the resulting
vision will not be perfect.
Cost
The costs of any surgery varies significantly between surgeons, medical facilities, and regions of
the country. The fee will also vary depending on whether local or general anesthesia is used.
Patients who are younger, sicker, or need more extensive surgery will require more intensive and
expensive treatment.
Questions to ask your doctor
1. What are the benefits of this surgery and what chances do I have of getting these
benefits ?
2. What are the risks involved in this surgery and what are the chances of me encountering
these risks ?
3. Can I speak with a patient of yours that has undergone this procedure ?
4. How long of a recovery period should I expect to have, based on my personal health ?
Be sure to
• Tell your doctor about any medical conditions you have and any medications that you are
taking. Include any self-prescribed medications that your are taking, such as herbs or
other natural remedies.

6. • Carefully follow the doctor's instructions regarding the use of eye drops and shields after
the surgery.
• Arrange for someone to drive you home after the surgery.
• Be on constant lookout for rejection symptoms. Remember that this can occur even years
after the surgery.
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