Rejection rates for repeat corneal graft

[Potter86]

I have had a repeat corneal graft after trauma in 2012 made it fail.i am 9 months everything with the graft looks good...i know the chances of rejection are far more likley in a repeat graft but what are the percentages? I cant find anywhere online and my surgeon hasnt really told me he just said its a higher chance,also can corneal grafts last a life time?thanks p.s my original condition was keratoconus

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Most patients with corneal transplants for K-conus only need one surgery.  K conus is usually genetic/developmental and not due to trauma.   New treatment for kconus   is available corneal crosslinking with riboflavin.  Most K conus no longer require corneal transplants and partial thickness cornea procedures can be done which are safer, heal faster and have much less astigmatism.

[Potter86]

I know but mine failed due to me havin trauma in iy as i clashed heads and it split it open,so i had to have it re done and was jist asking about likley hood of it failing 2nd time around

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Risk is low.  Has the other eye had surgery? Does it have K conus?  Do you wear rigid contact lens on either eye?

[Potter86]

Yes the right eye has keratoconus and is very advanced i currently wear a large scleral contact lense in that eye but vision is not the best,i dont wear a lense in the transplanted eye just yet as the sutures are still in place and my surgeon is going to start taking them out in 3 months.i just wanted to know the success rate of a 2nd graft in one eye wasbafter the first graft failing due to it being ruptured when i clashed heads.thankyou

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Ask your eye MD if your kconus is too advanced for  cornea cross linking using riboflavin.  If you need surgery on the unoperated eye see if a partial thickness corneal procedure will work instead of full thickness corneal transplant.

[Potter86]

Hello,my right eye is to advanced for cross linkimg the only option is penetrating keratoplasty.my left eye in my accident i lost my natural lense and half my iris and my graft failed.my md told me best was to just do a repeat full thickness graft.i am 9 months in to repeat graft and the graft is doing well,i was just wondering the chances of it rejecting this time due to all thats gone on.thanks for your time

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Happy to help.