Ophthalmic Procedures

Corneal Procedures

Dr. Mark Schneider of TriCounty Eye Institute specializes in advanced medical and surgical management of all conditions and disorders of the cornea – the transparent layer of tissue that covers the front of the eye.

A corneal transplant procedure is performed when the cornea of the eye becomes cloudy or irregularly shaped due to eye disease. The diseased cornea is then replaced with a healthy one donated from a local eye bank.

Corneal transplants are very common in the United States with about 40,000 procedures performed every year.

Corneal transplantation has restored sight to many patients, who a generation ago would have been blinded permanently by corneal injury, infection, or inherited corneal disease or degeneration.

One of the latest advances in eye care for the treatment of corneal disease is phototherapeutic keratectomy, or PTK, as it is commonly known.

By combining the precision of the excimer laser used in LASIK surgery with the control of a computer, Dr. Schneider can vaporize microscopically thin layers of diseased corneal tissue.  New tissue can then grow over the now smooth surface, and recovery from PTK takes a matter of days rather than months as with a transplant. The return of vision can occur rapidly, especially if the cause of the problem is confined to the top layer of the cornea.