Cornea Transplant in Turkey

A cornea transplant (keratoplasty) replaces all or part of a diseased, scarred or clouded cornea with healthy donor tissue, with the aim of restoring clearer vision and a more comfortable eye. In Turkey, accredited eye hospitals perform the full range of modern techniques, from full-thickness grafts to selective layer-only transplants such as DMEK and DALK. As an independent facilitator and patient advocate, Unal Cakar coordinates your assessment, ethically sourced donor tissue, surgery and structured follow-up with vetted partner clinics, and you pay the clinic directly. Outcomes depend heavily on the underlying condition, so honest assessment and long-term monitoring matter more than any single figure.

The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped front window of the eye that focuses light onto the retina. When it becomes permanently clouded, scarred, swollen or distorted, vision drops and glasses or contact lenses can no longer correct it. A cornea transplant removes the affected tissue and replaces it with a graft from a screened human donor, supplied through a regulated eye bank.

There is no single operation called a cornea transplant. Modern surgery is tailored to which layers are damaged. A full-thickness graft (penetrating keratoplasty) replaces the entire cornea; deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) replaces the front and middle layers while keeping your own healthy inner layer; and endothelial techniques (DSAEK/DMEK) replace only the thin inner layer, which is ideal for conditions such as Fuchs' dystrophy. Layer-selective transplants generally recover faster and carry a lower rejection risk than full-thickness grafts.

Before anything is scheduled, a corneal specialist confirms the diagnosis and decides which technique is appropriate using a slit-lamp examination, corneal topography or tomography (such as Pentacam), pachymetry and, where needed, endothelial cell counts. This staging determines whether you need a full-thickness or a layer-selective graft, and it is the single most important step for a sensible outcome.

Surgery is usually performed under local anaesthetic with sedation, though general anaesthetic may be used. The diseased tissue is precisely removed and the donor graft is positioned and secured: full-thickness and DALK grafts are held with very fine sutures, while DMEK and DSAEK grafts are floated into place and supported by an air or gas bubble that presses the new layer against the back of your cornea. Most procedures take roughly 45 to 90 minutes per eye. After endothelial surgery you may be asked to lie flat for several hours so the bubble holds the graft in position.

• Full range of techniques: penetrating keratoplasty, DALK and endothelial DMEK/DSAEK
• Screened, ethically sourced donor tissue via regulated eye banks
• Suited to keratoconus, corneal scarring, Fuchs' dystrophy and selected failed grafts
• Coordinated assessment, surgery and early follow-up in one trip
• Independent facilitator oversight; you pay the accredited clinic directly

1. 01

   Remote assessment and records review

   You share your diagnosis, recent eye scans and history. Unal arranges a review with a partner corneal surgeon to confirm whether a transplant is appropriate and which technique fits your case.

2. 02

   Treatment plan and donor tissue

   The clinic confirms the graft type, ethically sourced and screened donor tissue through a regulated eye bank, an itemised quote and the realistic stay required. You pay the clinic directly.

3. 03

   Arrival and pre-operative examinations

   On arrival you have a full ophthalmic work-up, topography and any final tests. The surgeon reviews the plan with you and answers questions before consent.

4. 04

   Surgery

   The transplant is performed under local or general anaesthetic, typically as day surgery. You are monitored afterwards and given detailed instructions and eye drops.

5. 05

   Early follow-up in Turkey

   You stay 7 to 14 days for the first reviews, checking graft position, eye pressure and early healing, with drop regimens adjusted as needed before you travel home.

6. 06

   Long-term monitoring at home

   Healing and suture removal continue over months. Unal helps coordinate reports for your local ophthalmologist and remains a point of contact for ongoing questions.

Good candidates are people whose vision is limited by corneal disease that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or less invasive treatment, including advanced keratoconus, corneal scarring from infection or injury, Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy, bullous keratopathy and selected failed previous grafts. You should be in reasonable general health, able to attend follow-up and willing to use eye drops reliably for months. A transplant is usually not the right first step if the cornea can still be managed with cross-linking, specialist contact lenses or a partial procedure, and it is less predictable when other parts of the eye are also damaged, for example significant glaucoma, retinal disease or a very dry or inflamed ocular surface. People who cannot commit to long-term monitoring, or who have an active eye infection or uncontrolled inflammation, may need treatment and stabilisation first. The surgeon's assessment is what ultimately decides suitability.

• Access to the full range of modern techniques, including layer-selective DMEK, DSAEK and DALK as well as full-thickness grafts
• Treatment by accredited corneal surgeons using screened, ethically sourced donor tissue from regulated eye banks
• Potential for clearer, more functional vision and relief from pain or glare caused by a damaged cornea
• Layer-selective options that can mean faster visual recovery and lower rejection risk than full-thickness surgery
• A coordinated pathway covering assessment, surgery and structured early follow-up in one trip
• An independent advocate overseeing quality and logistics, with you paying the clinic directly

Cornea transplant recovery is measured in months, not days, and patience is essential. You will use anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops on a tapering schedule, often steroid drops for many months to reduce the risk of rejection. In the first weeks vision is usually blurred and the eye can feel gritty or sensitive to light; you must avoid rubbing the eye, heavy lifting, swimming and dusty environments, and you will normally wear a protective shield at night for a period.

Visual recovery depends on the technique. Endothelial grafts (DMEK/DSAEK) often clear within weeks, while full-thickness and DALK grafts heal slowly, and sutures may stay in for many months to over a year, sometimes being removed in stages. Final spectacle or contact lens prescription is only settled once healing stabilises. Plan an initial 7 to 14 days in Turkey for early reviews, then ongoing checks with your own ophthalmologist; lifelong, or at least very long-term, monitoring is recommended because graft rejection can occur even years later.

Many people gain clearer, more usable vision after a successful graft, and modern layer-selective techniques have improved both the speed of recovery and graft survival for suitable conditions. However, results vary widely with the underlying diagnosis and the health of the rest of the eye. Some patients still need glasses, contact lenses or, later, a laser refractive adjustment to fine-tune vision, and astigmatism after full-thickness grafts is common. No surgeon can guarantee a specific level of vision, and a transplant restores the cornea rather than treating other eye conditions you may have. Realistic expectations, agreed with your surgeon before surgery, are the best foundation for satisfaction.

Turkey combines internationally accredited eye hospitals and experienced corneal surgeons with costs that are typically well below the UK, US and much of Western Europe, where corneal transplant access can also involve long waiting lists. Unal Cakar works as an independent facilitator and patient advocate, not a clinic: he vets and selects accredited partner hospitals, coordinates your assessment, ethically sourced donor tissue, surgery and early follow-up, and helps with travel and translation. You always pay the clinic directly and receive a clear, itemised quote, so there are no hidden fees, and his focus is on appropriate, safe treatment rather than pushing surgery.