In the Institute of Ocular Microsurgery, layered keratoplasty is performed in 70% of cases. When the posterior corneal layers are affected, ophthalmologists perform corneal endothelial transplantation (DMEK). When the anterior (epithelial) layer is damaged, they perform an innovative procedure – transplantation of corneal stem cells (limbal stem cells).
Transplanted stem cells can be donor allogeneic transplantation or own autologous transplantation. In the second case, the doctor removes them from the limbus (the zone of transition of the cornea to the sclera) of the patient’s healthy eye.
Every year at IMO, ophthalmologists perform 200 operations of keratoplasty. They perform microsurgical operations using a femtosecond laser, which ensures minimally invasive interventions. The survival rate of the donor cornea is more than 95%. The price of keratoplasty in IMO is about $9,000 ($12,000 in Turkey).