One of the few known corneal vision
corrective procedures is that of the penetrating keratoplasty which is simply
put the full transplant of one’s cornea. This procedure is also known as PK or
even as a corneal graft but regardless of the term used to describe it the
procedure is the same.
The goal of the penetrating keratoplasty is
to replace the central tissue in the cornea by grafting new in its place. This
is the way to go when dealing with the damage of one’s vision as a result of
disease or an injury. These corneas are from a local eye bank which receives
them through the tissue donor program and are then checked to ensure they are
healthy before making them available.
Furthermore, in comparison to the number of
tissue transplants performed allover the world, the penetrating keratoplasty is
the most common one. Every year there are more than 40,000 procedures performed
in the United States alone. However much like any type of grafting procedure the
potential for rejection is still an issue in which an estimated 21% of all
patients will end up rejecting the corneal graft. On aside note though, there
have also been a number of procedures set in place to help not only prevent
these rejections but also to manage them once they occur which has increased
the graft survival rate of the penetrating keratoplasty procedure.
There is also a newer version of the
procedure which is available but due to it being so young, proper tests and
results have yet to be determined to see if it is a viable replacement for
penetrating keratoplasty.
This particular procedure is considered to
be the longest out of all of the keratoplasty procedures and due to its nature
it also has the longest recovery time. With regards to the potential
complications associated with this it is important to remember that this is a
full-scale invasive procedure which means you have to deal with many different
potentials which is best to discuss these with the doctor who will be
performing the procedure. On the same hand though, because of the complexity of
the procedure the potential for results is also much greater as compared to the
plethora of keratoplasty procedures which are currently available.
