Courtesy of The Physicians Centre Hospital
For patients with corneal disease, their vision becomes cloudy over time and can eventually lead to blindness. At The Physicians Centre Hospital, patients now have access to a relatively new eye surgery, partial corneal transplants, that is highly successful in restoring sight.
“With traditional corneal transplants, the recovery time can be six to 12 months,” explained Kyle Kirkland, DO, Ophthalmology. “For many patients, we are now able to offer endothelial keratoplasty using either Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) or Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK). With these surgeries, patients have the potential of achieving better vision in as little as one to two weeks. The surgery is performed on an outpatient basis, and patients report improvement within a matter of weeks. For those patients who also need cataracts removed, we can safely perform the transplant at the same time as cataract surgery,” Dr. Kirkland notes.
The eye surgeon orders the tissue used in the transplants from an eye bank which procures and prepares the corneal tissue for transplantation. Unlike many other transplant organs and tissues, corneal transplants do not require a donor match. This allows the hospital to receive the tissue and conveniently schedule the transplant relatively quickly. Many of the patients who benefit from this surgery are those with Fuchs Dystrophy or other posterior corneal diseases such as bullous keratopathy.
“We are so excited to be able to offer this new service to residents in the Brazos Valley,” explains Kori Rich, CEO. “Many patients come to our hospital for cataract surgery, and we are pleased to have ophthalmologists on our active medical staff now doing partial corneal implants at our hospital. This is exciting news for our community, for our eye patients, and our hospital,” Rich notes.
For more information on ophthalmology services at The Physicians Centre Hospital, call (979) 731-3100.
