A cornea transplant, which replaces damaged tissue on the eye's clear surface, also is referred to as a corneal transplant, keratoplasty, penetrating keratoplasty (PK) or corneal graft.

A graft replaces central corneal tissue, damaged due to disease or injury, with healthy corneal tissue donated from a local eye bank. An unhealthy cornea affects your vision by scattering or distorting light and causing blurry or glary vision. A cornea transplant may be necessary to restore your functional vision.Cornea transplants are performed routinely. In fact, of all tissue transplants, the most successful is a corneal transplant.

Corneal transplants are performed on an outpatient basis, Local or general anesthesia is used, depending on your health, age and whether or not you prefer to be asleep during the procedure. With local anesthesia, an injection into the skin around your eye is used to relax muscles that control blinking and movement, and eye drops are used to numb the eye itself.

After the anesthesia has taken effect, the eyelids are held open with a special instrument (lid speculum). Your eye surgeon inspects and measures the affected corneal area in order to determine the size of the transplantation.

A round, button-shaped section of tissue is then removed from your diseased or injured cornea. Any additional work, such as cataract removal, is completed. A nearly identical-shaped button from the donor tissue is then sutured into place. Finally, the surgeon will place a plastic shield over your eye to protect it from being inadvertently rubbed or bumped. The surgery takes one to two hours.