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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Glaucoma / May 2004

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Fr. Cohn - glaucome + cornea transplant

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Frank Gannon - 16 May 2004 05:49 GMT
Dr. Cohn:

I have had simple open angle glaucoma for many years. Roughly twenty
years ago I had a cornea transplant, which my doc says is now reaching
the end of its useful life. A couple of years ago I had glaucoma
surgery and a ballard tube shunt was installed. If another cornea
transplant becomes necessary does that mean that the tube shunt must
be redone as well? Does my aging graft contribute to my increasing
difficulty in controlling the IOP in recent years?  

Thanks.
Sherry - 16 May 2004 16:10 GMT
> Dr. Cohn:
>
> I have had simple open angle glaucoma for many years. Roughly twenty
> years ago I had a cornea transplant, which my doc says is now reaching
> the end of its useful life. <snip>

They're limited in lifespan?  How long is a cornea transplant good for?  
What happens to the transplant over the years?

Sherry
Rick Cohn, M.D. - 18 May 2004 00:35 GMT
> > Dr. Cohn:
> >
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Sherry

A new cornea can last anywhere from a few years to over 20 years
depending on the health of the transplanted tissue (number of living
corneal endothelial cells per millimeter of the inner surface), any
episodes of graft rejection, and the underlying pathology that caused
the need for the graft (a graft done for keratoconus, a misshaped
cornea, will probably last longer than one performed because of
scarring from herpes simplex virus).  As a graft fails it becomes hazy
to white in color and the patient loses his/her clarity of vision.
--Dr. Cohn
Frank Gannon - 17 May 2004 03:39 GMT
>Dr. Cohn:
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>Thanks.
Frank Gannon - 17 May 2004 03:43 GMT
>>Dr. Cohn:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>>
>>Thanks.
Rick Cohn, M.D. - 18 May 2004 00:43 GMT
> >Dr. Cohn:
> >
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> >
> >Thanks.

No, If your IOP is okay, you wouldn't need another shunt just because
you're having a new cornea put on.  Your aging graft probably has
little to do with your IOP except that if your corneal thickness is
high based on pachymetry in that eye, you may be getting artificially
high IOP readings.  Remember that a thick cornea is harder to flatten
and therefore may give higher IOP readings than what is really going
on inside the eye.
--Dr. Cohn
 
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