Cornea transplant is more widespread on a global scale than other organ transplants. Thanks to it, many visually impaired and blind people have regained normal vision.
Keratoplasty, or corneal transplant, is the most frequently performed graft worldwide (more than 100,000 transplants each year). It was performed for the first time in 1887 by Arthur Von Hippel. It is also considered to be the oldest tissue transplant that was performed successfully in humans. Keratoplasty has the best long-term survival (nearly 70% survival after 10 years).
In practical terms, it is a matter of replacing the diseased part of the cornea with a healthy tissue, taken from a deceased donor. In Turkey, nearly 600 cornea transplants are performed each year.
The high success rate of these transplants lies in the fact that they do not require tissue and blood compatibility between the recipient and the donor, as is the case of organ transplants. Since the corneal tissue is not a vascular organ, the risk of rejection is much lower than after transplanting an organ such as the heart transplant or kidney transplant.
However, the recipient will be required to receive anti-rejection treatment (steroids or cyclosporin) in the form of eye drops for two years following the operation. In addition, all potential organ donors benefit from blood tests in search of infections that they could transmit to the recipient (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and so forth).
Nevertheless, there is still a minimal risk of infection, due in particular to the appearance of bacteria or viruses that are still unknown and therefore they are not detectable with the usual tests.
If there is no cornea donor, the recipient will be placed on a waiting list according to the seriousness of their visual impairment and the disability it represents in their daily lives, especially in their professional life. The waiting period can last from one to two or up to three years! Once the transplant is found, patients are notified one week before the procedure.
Cornea transplantation is performed under local or general anesthesia depending on the patient’s age, ability to collaborate, and duration of surgery. If both eyes are affected, they are operated separately, one year apart. Because a simultaneous transplant increases the risk of rejection.
Rejection of corneal graft, if it occurs, is very quickly detected by the patient (visual decline) & by the doctor through a simple clinical examination, and thus it is early treated with cortisone treatment.
These procedures are not done using a laser, but with very specific tools to make extremely precise lamellar cuts (especially a microkeratome). Given the precision required for this type of procedure, it is recommended that you contact an experienced eye surgeon.
There are several types of corneal transplants such as:
Perforating graft: in this case, the entire thickness of the diseased cornea is replaced. The procedure takes about 40 minutes.
Lamellar grafting: only the part of the cornea that is sick is replaced. If the diseased part is located in front of the cornea (for example keratoconus), an anterior lamellar graft is performed. If the endothelium is affected, a so-called posterior lamellar graft is performed. The advantage of this technique is that it negates the risk of endothelial rejection if it is an anterior lamellar graft, since the patient keeps his/her own endothelium. The operation takes about 80 minutes. A corneal graft can also be combined with another procedure, such as cataract extraction.
The most modern endothelial grafting technique is the DMEK (Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty) which consists in inserting only a membrane graft of Descemet (pure endothelium, without any part of the corneal stroma) into the eye. This more difficult technique gives better visual results than other older endothelial grafting techniques such as DSAEK (Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty) whose graft consisted of the Descemet membrane plus the corneal stroma.
Turquie santé introduces the best cornea transplant surgeons who will be in charge of performing corneal graft surgery that has a success rate ranging between 70% and 90%.
It is crucial to mention that our prices are 50% cheaper than France. Our platform offers a guide to prices and rates for your medical stay, cheap cosmetic surgery prices.
The accuracy of the content has been reviewed by the Medical Commission of Turquie Santé.
Please find below the different prices associated with your request for : Cornea transplant in Turkey
The cost of treatment depends on a variety of factors that vary from hospital to hospital. The type of surgery you are going to have and the experience of your surgeon should be taken into consideration.
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