Is there a difference between a corneal transplant for older and younger patients?
No. However, the eye bank does try to match the donor corneas according to age so that younger patients receive transplants from younger donors. Patients from different age groups tend to need corneal transplants for different reasons. The most common reason for a young person to need a corneal transplant is a condition called keratoconus. The most common reason for an elderly patient to need a corneal transplant is endothelial failure. Both of these conditions can be treated with a full thickness corneal transplant (penetrating keratoplasty). However, many corneal surgeons would now treat keratoconus with a lamellar transplant (DALK) – a partial thickness cornea transplant, and endothelial failure with endothelial replacement (DSEK) – a new partial thickness procedure in which only the lining of the cornea is replaced. What are the risks of corneal transplant? • With any eye surgery there is a small risk of infection inside the eye – although this occurs in less than 1 in 1,000 patien
