cell count

[mays123]

I have had 2 cornea transplants in my right eye and various other procedures over the last 25 years.  My original eye dr. retired and I've starting seeing a new one because of blurred vision.  He said my cell count in the cornea is low and that that does happen in transplanted corneas, and that often a new transplant is necessary.  I had never been told this over the years and it caught me by surprise.  Is this consistent with your knowledge about cell counts in corneas?
Thanks!
mays123

[AnnaE]

I am a community leader here, not a doctor. I am also an experienced eye patient. Welcome to our community

The doctor will advise you.



I encourage you to follow up with us, and to respond to other community members, so that all of us can help each other learn about our eye care.

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

The cell count is not as imporant as wether the cornea is starting to take on water and hold it in the main part of the cornea (stroma) or under the outer layer (epithelium).  The cornea MD can often tell this by looking at it and by serial measurements of how thick the cornea is (pachymetry). As the cornea becomes waterlogged it increases in thickness.

As a generalization most corneas with cell counts over 800 square MM do okay much less than than and there's not much reserve.

JCH III MD