How long does it take to recover from a Corneal Surgery?
Your eyes are precious and when they need to heal it is incredibly important to allow them the time and care as prescribed by your doctor. When you need cornea surgery, it can be a difficult time as you are so eager for your eyes to feel better. Depending on the type of cornea surgery you need, will dictate how long recovery will take.
A corneal surgery or transplant (keratoplasty) is a procedure in which some or all of a cornea in need of replacement is removed and replaced with donor tissue. The surgery may be done with traditional surgical technologies or with the aid of a surgical laser. There are three main types of cornea surgery: Full Thickness, Partial Thickness, and Pterygium Surgery. Each type can have unique healing periods.
Full Thickness Cornea Surgery
When you need all of the layers of your cornea replaced, this is considered a full thickness cornea surgery. This surgery is called a penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Though less common, this cornea surgery typically occurs when you have severe damage to the layers of your cornea from an injury.
Due to needing a full replacement of all the layers of the cornea, it may not surprise you that this cornea transplant takes the longest to heal. The healing process can vary from person to person. Typically we find that it takes just a few days of needing an eye patch and once removed often people experience blurry vision in that eye.
It is recommended to take it easy and minimize activities that could cause something- including your own hands- to hit that eye. It is very important to follow the guidelines from your doctor after for eye drops, medications, and activity. Most people find within 6-12 weeks their eyes have adjusted to the new cornea and their vision has improved.
Specific eye drops will be recommended by your doctor to help with any irritation and healing. You will also want to avoid strenuous activities, as well as things like dusting and swimming. It is important to really allow the eye time to heal and accept this new cornea. Most people are able to resume their normal activities within a week or two outside of heavy lifting and physical activity that could potentially hurt the eye.
Partial Thickness Cornea Surgery
A partial thickness corneal transplant replaces only the innermost layer of the cornea. This is known as DSAEK, which stands for decimates stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty. DSAEK is a relatively new surgical technique that affords significant improvements over traditional corneal transplants for certain indications.
The surgery itself takes less time, involves a smaller surgical incision, and requires minimal stitches. Therefore DSAEK has a shorter healing time leading to a faster visual recovery. After the procedure, a patch will be placed over the eye and you will return home where you are instructed to rest for the remainder of the day, lying flat on your back to keep the air against the corneal transplant.
Your vision will be quite blurry for the first few weeks after surgery as the new cornea is healing. Visual recovery varies depending on the severity of your corneal cloudiness prior to surgery. Most patients notice improvement in their vision during the first two weeks after surgery, with continued improvement during the next four to six weeks.
To follow up, repeated visits will be necessary to monitor the progress of the transplant. The total visual recovery time for a DSAEK surgery is typically between two to six months.
Occasionally, the transplant may “detach” from the more superficial layers of the cornea and the transplant would have to be repositioned. Other times, the transplant may fail and would have to be replaced. If the DSAEK fails, either after one or multiple attempts, a traditional corneal transplant operation can still be performed. Similar to other organ transplants, anti-rejection medications are required for a number of years— however, rather than pills, eye drops are used for this purpose.
Pterygium Surgery
Pterygium surgery is a procedure performed to remove noncancerous conjunctiva growths (pterygia) from the eye. The conjunctiva make up the clear tissue covering the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelids. Some cases of a pterygium produce little to no symptoms, however severe overgrowth of conjunctiva tissue can cover the cornea and interfere with your vision.
The pterygium surgical procedure is fairly quick and low risk. We will sedate you and numb your eyes to prevent discomfort during surgery, and will then clean the areas surrounding your eye.
We will then remove the pterygium along with some associated conjunctiva tissue. Once the pterygium is removed, we will replace it with a graft of associated membrane tissue to prevent recurrent pterygium growths.
At the end of surgery, your doctor will apply an eye patch or pad for comfort and to prevent infection. It’s important to not rub your eyes after the procedure to avoid dislodging the attached tissue. We will provide you with aftercare instructions, including cleaning procedures, antibiotics, and scheduling follow-up visits.
Recovery time can take anywhere between a couple of weeks to a couple of months for your eye to completely heal, without signs of redness or discomfort. However, this may also be dependent on the type of technique used during surgery.
Once the pterygium is removed, we will either use sutures or fibrin glue to secure the conjunctiva tissue graft in its place. Both techniques reduce the possibility of recurring pterygia. While using dissolvable sutures may be considered a benchmark practice, it can cause more discomfort post surgery, and extend the recovery time for several weeks.
