Methods employed in replacement of the corneal endothelium

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial outer thickness of tissue from a patient's cornea by making a cut generally transverse to the axis of vision;
• (b) removing a plug of the patient's cornea from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells, thereby forming a bore through the patient's cornea;
• (c) placing in said bore a donor replacement plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium cut from the cornea of a donor eye, the plug being sized and shaped to fit closely in said bore;
• (d) attaching the donor plug to the patient's cornea;
• and
• (e) attaching to the patient's cornea or corneal replacement cap comprising a generally circular outer thickness of corneal tissue taken from a cornea of a donor eye using a generally transverse cut to cover the area from which the outer thickness of the patient's cornea was removed.

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a donor cornea by making a cut generally transverse to the axis of vision;
• (b) excising from the donor cornea a corneal-scleral rim that includes Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium of the donor cornea and the portion of the donor cornea from which the outer thickness was removed.
• (c) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a patient s cornea by making a cut generally transverse to the axis of vision;
• (d) removing a plug of the patient's cornea from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells, thereby forming a bore through the remaining portion of the patient's cornea;
• and
• (e) removing a donor plug of the remaining portion of the corneal-scleral rim from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the donor plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells;
• (f) placing in said bore the donor plug;
• and
• (g) reattaching the outer thickness of tissue removed from the patient's cornea to the patient's cornea to cover the plug and to cover the area of the patient's cornea from which the outer thickness of tissue was removed.

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a patient's cornea by making a cut generally transverse to the axis of vision;
• (b) removing a plug of the remaining portion of the patient's cornea from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells, thereby forming a bore through the remaining portion of the patient's cornea;
• and
• (c) placing in said bore a donor plug that includes Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium from the cornea of a donor eye;
• (d) surgically attaching the plug to the cornea;
• and
• (e) reattaching to the cornea the generally circular outer thickness of corneal tissue removed from the patient's cornea to cover the area from which the outer thickness of tissue was previously removed.

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a patient's cornea by making a cut generally transverse to the axis of vision;
• (b) removing a plug of the remaining portion of the patient's cornea from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells, thereby forming a bore through the remaining portion of the patient's cornea;
• and
• (c) placing in said bore a donor plug that includes Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium from the cornea of a donor eye;
• (d) attaching the plug to the cornea;
• and
• (e) attaching to the cornea a generally circular outer thickness of corneal tissue from a cornea of a donor eye to cover the area from which the outer thickness of tissue was previously removed.

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a donor cornea by making a cut substantially perpendicular to the axis of vision;
• (b) excising from the donor cornea a corneal-scleral rim that includes Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium of the donor cornea and the portion of the donor cornea from which the outer thickness was removed.
• (c) removing a partial, generally circular outer thickness of tissue from a patient's cornea by making a cut substantially perpendicular to the axis of vision;
• (d) removing a plug of the patient's cornea from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelial cells, thereby forming a bore through the remaining portion of the patient's cornea;
• and
• (e) removing a donor plug of the corneal-scleral rim from the area in which the outer thickness of tissue was removed, the donor plug including Descement's membrane and corneal endothelial cells;
• (f) placing in said bore the donor plug;
• and
• (g) attaching to the patient's cornea the outer thickness of tissue removed from a donor cornea to cover the plug and to cover the area of the patient's cornea from which the outer thickness of tissue was removed.

A method of corneal transplantation comprising the steps of:

• (a) removing a partial outer thickness of tissue from a patient's cornea to define a first cap by making a cut substantially perpendicular to the axis of vision;
• (b) forming a bore through the remaining portion of the patient's cornea in the area from which the first cap was removed;
• (c) removing a partial outer thickness of tissue from a donor's cornea to define a second cap by making a cut substantially perpendicular to the axis of vision;
• (d) forming a bore through the remaining portion of the donor's cornea in the area from which the second cap was removed to define a plug including Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium;
• (e) affixing the plug in the bore through the patient's cornea;
• and
• (f) affixing one of the first or second caps to the patient's cornea to cover the area thereof from which the first cap was removed.