H50 -- December 2007 -- Corneal Transplants

Intro: Sight is one of those things many of us take for granted. But imagine what life would be like if you were losing your vision, and the world around you was getting blurry and dark. It's a reality for many people who have certain eye diseases of the cornea. But corneal transplants can return the gift of sight to many people. More from Mayo Clinic.

"I WAS DOING THIS BEFORE I HAD THE SURGERY BUT IT WAS LIKE BRAILLE. I COULD FEEL PROBLEMS BEFORE I COULD SEE THEM."

AS WOOD TURNER DAVID DUNN'S EYES GREW CLOUDY BECAUSE OF AN EYE DISEASE CALLED FUCHS DYSTROPHY, HIS ART BECAME MORE DIFFICULT TO MASTER.

"IN RECENT YEARS IT GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE."

HE JUST COULDN'T SEE WELL ENOUGH TO SPIN HIS WOODEN CREATIONS -- BOWLS, PLATES, TOPS AND OTHER PIECES.

"I CALLED IT LIKE HAVING WAX PAPER OVER YOUR GLASSES."

FUCHS DYSTROPHY AFFECTS THE INSIDE LINING OF THE CORNEA, CAUSING IT TO BECOME CLOUDY. MAYO CLINIC DR. SANJAY PATEL SAYS THE ONLY CURE IS A CORNEAL TRANSPLANT.

"WE NEED TO DO CORNEAL TRANSPLANTS TO EITHER FIX CORNEAL TRANSPARENCY OR TO FIX ABNORMALITIES OF THE CORNEAL SHAPE."

FULL-THICKNESS CORNEAL TRANSPLANTS INVOLVE REMOVING THE DISEASED CORNEA AND STITCHING IN A NEW ONE FROM A DONOR. BUT NOW, FOR DISEASES THAT AFFECT ONLY THE INNER LINING OF THE CORNEA, DOCTORS CAN DO A PARTIAL-THICKNESS TRANSPLANT. THIS INVOLVES REMOVING ONLY THE DAMAGED LAYER AND TRANSPLANTING IT WITH DONOR TISSUE.

"THE BENEFITS ARE MORE PREDICTABLE GLASSES CORRECTION BECAUSE WE DON'T PUT SUTURES IN..."

A SMALLER INCISION AND A FASTER RECOVERY. THE TRANSPLANT ALLOWS PATIENTS LIKE DAVE TO HAVE 20-40, EVEN 20-20 VISION WITH GLASSES.

"I AM SEEING BETTER NOW THAN I HAVE IN LORD KNOWS HOW LONG."

THE GIFT OF SIGHT. AND ART.

FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS.

Anchor tag: Dr. Patel says corneal transplants are done on an outpatient basis with close follow up afterwards. For more information, visit our Website at …

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