Corneal Transplant Surgery in Fayetteville, AR

Not everyone’s corneas stay perfectly clear their entire lives. If something occurs that requires corneal treatment, Vold Vision in Northwest Arkansas is your source for careful and compassionate care. Dr. Steven Vold is board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and a specialist in the management of corneal disease as well as cataract and glaucoma. Dr. Vold can apply the best in available technology to bring you the best possible result whether your corneal disease is mild or severe, common or very rare.

Corneal transplants typically restore or significantly improve your sight. You may be an excellent candidate if you have Fuch’s dystrophy, keratoconus, a thinning cornea, corneal scarring, clouding, or swelling. Before any procedure, you will first receive a complete eye exam. You will also receive specific instructions about how to best prepare for your individual procedure.

Depending on what’s happening with your cornea, Dr. Vold will carefully determine the most effective technique to restore your vision. Procedures broadly fall into two main categories, full (PKP), or partial thickness (DALK, DSAEK, or DMEK).

DSAEK

Decemets Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) is a proven technique developed to bring back and restore the clarity of the cornea when swelling, edema, or inflammation have led to a loss of clear vision. With DSAEK, Dr. Vold can perform a partial cornea replacement surgery, resulting in much quicker recovery times than with full-thickness, more traditional techniques.

DMEK

Vold Vision also offers the Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), which is the thinnest and most recent cornea transplant available. While DMEK is similar to DSAEK, the cornea tissue transplanted is very thin, being only about 10 microns thick, or 1/100th of a millimeter. By incorporating the thinnest tissue possible, DMEK leads to a faster recovery, a decreased risk of rejection, and a greater chance of attaining 20/20 vision.

Penetrating Keratoplasty

Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK), a full-thickness cornea transplant, is performed by the experienced eye surgeons at Vold Vision. In some cases, PK has been supplanted by partial thickness transplants, due to reduced scarring and recovery times. For example, Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) is a partial-thickness transplant that replaces the stroma, or the outer layers of the cornea, leaving the inner layers intact.

Ocular Surface Reconstruction

Reconstruction of the ocular surface may be required in cases of severe dry eye or ocular surface disease, or in certain corneal dystrophies such as map dot fingerprint dystrophy. Painful erosions or a chronic non-healing eye surface may be improved and ultimately repaired by resurfacing and planting a protective contact lens or healing amniotic membrane onto the eye surface.

If you have corneal issues, now is the time to take that first step to clearer eyesight. At Vold Vision, our team of friendly and patient professionals, led by Dr. Vold will bring all their experience and technology to bear to accurately diagnose and successfully treat your condition so you can reclaim the best possible vision. Contact one of our convenient locations today to schedule an initial consultation.