Corneal transplantation, also known as corneal grafting, is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue. When the entire cornea is replaced it is known as penetrating keratoplasty and when only part of the cornea is replaced it is known as lamellar keratoplasty.Cornea transplants are performed routinely and have a reasonable success rate. In fact, cornea grafts are the most successful of all tissue transplants. ... Rejection of the donor tissue is the most serious complication after a corneal transplant and occurs in 5 to 30 percent of patients.

You will probably be able to return to work or your normal routine in about 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. But your vision will still be blurry. You will need to avoid heavy lifting for about 4 weeks, or until your doctor says it is okay.You won't be asleep during the surgery, but you shouldn't feel any pain. During the most common type of cornea transplant (penetrating keratoplasty), your surgeon cuts through the entire thickness of the abnormal or diseased cornea to remove a small button-sized disk of corneal tissueSome corneas do last forever, but some need to be replaced due to transplant rejection (which can occur even 20 years later) or due to simple failure of the transplant's new cells over time (depending on the age and health of the donor tissue, the “warranty” may just run out).