Corneal transplantation may be necessary for those with any form of opacification or distortion of the cornea but it is important to be aware that this is not a simple and quick fix for the problem. The procedure involves removal of the central part of the cornea and replacement with an appropriately-sized piece of cornea from a donor (someone who has died). This is a proper transplant procedure and satisfactory synthetic grafts are not available yet for this problem.

Corneal transplants are done as either full-thickness (penetrating keratoplasty) grafts or as lamellar  procedures where only the affected layers of the cornea are replaced. The lamellar procedures include deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) for keratoconus and endothelial keratoplasties (DMEK, DSAEK) for corneal endothelial problems.

Dr. Wiffen performs all forms of corneal transplantation, including:

• PK
• DALK
• Endothelial keratoplasty
• DMEK
• DSAEK
• Corneal transplantation for keratoconus
• Femtosecond laser assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty (FALK)