Cornea

Why does it fail?
In children, the most common cornea problems are due to congenital abnormalities or trauma with severe injury and scarring of the cornea. Trauma and scarring from infected ulcers of the cornea are among the leading reasons for cornea failure among young adults. Hereditary degeneration may become symptomatic in young adulthood with a gradual decrease and distortion of vision over time eventually leading to failure. Corneal edema (swelling due to retention of fluid) is the major cause of corneal failure in older adults whether due to dystrophy or previous eye surgery.

In a cornea transplant, a clear cornea from a donor is attached with microsurgery to replace a cloudy or diseased cornea.