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Cornea
After Surgery
You will be sent home from the hospital or surgery center with a patch over your eye. This
patch is to remain until you return to see the doctor the next day. You will then be
instructed on how to use your eye drops and be given an appointment when to return. You can
expect that you will be using eye drops for the rest of your life in most cases, although
maybe not the same drops or in the same dosage or at the same times.
To apply an eye drop without putting pressure on the eye, simply place the index
finger over the bony area below the lower lid and draw the skin slightly downward. This
creates a pouch between the eye and the lower lid. The eye drop is placed in this space and
the eyelid gently released.
When the patch is removed from your eye, you will see lights, colors and shapes.
Details will not be clear, and you may feel that your vision is blurry.
After surgery, small twinges of pain are to be expected, especially soon after
surgery until the surface of the epithelium layer covers the stitches. If your eye hurts or
throbs for more than a few hours, you should call your eye doctor. A sudden redness of the
eye or cloudiness is a danger signal. Aggressive and immediate treatment may be necessary to
save the transplant. This is often possible if you act in time. All eyes are different. You
must remember this new cornea once fit another eye well, but the fit and curvature is never
completely identical to your own. As the cornea heals, you will experience improving vision
for many months. You probably will not have your very best vision for half a year or longer.
Even then your best vision usually will require glasses and occasionally a second minor
office surgery may be required to adjust the shape of the cornea. The use of a contact lens
may be advised to achieve best vision.
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