Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratectomy or DALK is a newer advanced surgical procedure now performed by the doctors of the East West Eye Institute with significant advantages over a traditional corneal transplant. In traditional corneal transplantation, the entire cornea is removed and replaced with a donor cornea. This is certainly acceptable when the entire cornea is diseased, however, many times only a portion of the cornea is affected. Diseases of corneal shape (ex. keratoconus) and often diseases of corneal clarity (ex. corneal scars) are two such examples where only a portion of the cornea may be affected. Historically, the only option to address any of these conditions was a full thickness corneal transplant. For a large percentage of patients with such problems, DALK may be an excellent alternative to the traditional corneal transplant.

In DALK, only the diseased anterior layers of the cornea are removed and the important, healthy, innermost layer of the cornea (the endothelium) is retained. This is a huge advantage over the traditional corneal transplantation procedure because - by preserving the healthy endothelium – the dreaded complication of rejection and its subsequent loss of corneal clarity do not occur. Rejection is the cause for a large percentage of late transplantation failures in traditional corneal transplantation. This risk is largely eliminated with the DALK procedure.

When compared to a traditional corneal transplant where a large incision into the eye is made, the successful DALK surgical risks are greatly reduced because a large incision into the eye is avoided with this new procedure.

Should you or someone you know be a candidate for the DALK surgery, the doctors of the East West Eye Institute have the training and expertise to provide this service for you.