Corneal Grafting Treatment in India

Karan Nair, a 58-year-old retired school...

Karan Nair, a 58-year-old retired school teacher and avid reader from Kerala, had his world slowly dimming over the past decade. A childhood injury from a firecracker had left him with a scarred and progressively thinning cornea, a condition called keratoconus. His symptoms began with distorted, blurry vision and extreme sensitivity to light, making reading and even watching television a strain. Eventually, he could only perceive light and shadows. His ophthalmologist, after years of managing the condition with rigid contact lenses, finally recommended a full-thickness penetrating keratoplasty (corneal graft) as the only way to restore functional vision. The surgery itself was anxiety-inducing but painless under local anaesthesia. The recovery was a long test of patience, involving a strict regimen of steroid eye drops to prevent rejection and months of gradually improving but fluctuating vision. Emotionally, Karan felt a deep sense of loss and dependence before the surgery. After a year of healing, with his new cornea stable and vision corrected to 20/40 with glasses, the emotional reward was profound. He described the moment he could clearly see his granddaughter's face for the first time as 'a second birth,' filling him with immense gratitude and a renewed zest for life's simple visual pleasures.