Keratoprosthesis

A few patients have mentioned K-Pros to me. These are basically artificial corneas that can be used when normal cornea transplants haven’t worked or typically don’t work (for example in situations with extensive destruction of the ocular surface). The upside for these artificial corneas is that they often give good clarity of vision in the early post-operative period, because light goes through a nice clear aperture and is focused on the retina. There are many pitfalls for these artificial corneas in the long term, however. One of them is that patients often develop glaucoma or worsen glaucoma. Once bad glaucoma sets in, there is currently no way to “go back” to the way things were before. So, even though artificial corneas can seem like miracles “out of the gate,” that positive outcome doesn’t always persist forever.