Cornea Transplants

Another successful transplant procedure is replacement of the cornea in the eye. The cornea is the transparent portion of the eye that covers the pupil and iris and admits light. World-wide, corneal disease is the most common cause of blindness, children being the most frequent victims.

The first successful cornea transplant was performed on an animal in the early 19th century. In 1835, a British army surgeon was being held prisoner by a group of Arabs. During his captivity a pet antelope became blind because of a scarred cornea. A wounded antelope was soon found, and when it died, the surgeon removed its cornea and transplanted it into the pet antelope, which survived and prospered following the procedure.

Today, successful cornea transplants have been performed on infants as young as 5 months old. The danger of rejection is very low in these procedures because the cornea has no connection with the blood supply, receiving its nourishment from the eye fluid.

In 1996, 1235 corneal transplants were performed in Ontario. Over 90 percent of them successfully restored the patient's vision, giving them the chance to work again, drive a car, and simply enjoy the many facets of life which those of us with normal vision often take for granted.