The cornea is the clear front dome shaped window of the eye. It provides about 2/3 of the eye's focusing power. It gives us a clear window to look through and is the key to good vision. It also helps shield the rest of the eye from germs, dust, and other harmful pollutants.

The Corneal Service at our centre provides medical and surgical care to a wide variety of corneal, external eye related diseases and anterior segment eye disorders.

Cornea & External eye diseases:

• Corneal Infections
• Eye allergies Corneal complications arising from other forms of ocular surgery
• Ocular surface trauma
• Ocular surface disorders like blepharitis, meibomitis, conjunctival and scleral diseases
• Refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism)
• Conjunctivitis (red eye)
• Dry eye syndrome
• Ectatic corneal diseases like keratoconus, keratoglobus and pellucid marginal degeneration
• Pterygium
• Corneal dystrophies and degenerations

Surgical facilities offered by the cornea service:

• Corneal Transplantation: Penetrating keratoplasty, Lamellar keratoplasty, Endothelial keratoplasty(DSAEK)
• Keratoprosthesis (Artificial cornea)
• Scleral grafting
• Corneal, limbal, and amniotic membrane transplants for ocular surface reconstruction in severe ocular surface disease
• Tissue adhesive application to seal corneal perforation
• Collagen-cross linkage with Riboflavin for Keratoconus, post-LASIK ectasia& pellucid margin dystrophy.

Refractive and other laser procedures :

• LASIK, an acronym for Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, is a form of refractive laser eye surgery procedure performed by cornea specialists as an alternative for people wearing glasses and contact lenses.
• PRK: Photo Refractive Keratectomy is an excellent alternative to LASIK in selective cases where LASIK cannot be performed due to safety considerations as corneal thickness may be inadequate.
• PTK: Photo therapeutic Keratectomy is an excimer laser based therapeutic surgery done for numerous conditions ranging from corneal dystrophies to recurrent corneal erosions. It not only improves vision but also brings relief from recurrent episodes of painful red eye and also helps to delay the need for cornea transplantation.

Diagnostic Intervention

• Specular Microscopy- Study of the corneal endothelium (cells that maintain corneal clarity)
• Pachymetry- Measurement of corneal thickness
• Corneal Topography - Mapping of the cornea
• Aberrometry- Measurement of the aberrations in the eye
• Specialized contact lens fitting