Epikeratophakia is a refractive surgical procedure in which a donor cornea is transplanted to the anterior surface of the patient's cornea. A lamellar disc from a donor cornea is placed over the de-epithelialized host cornea and sutured into a prepared groove on the host cornea. Indications include aphakia and refractive errors which cannot be corrected with conservative methods. Refractive eye surgery is any eye surgery used to improve the refractive state of the eye and decrease dependency on glasses or contact lenses. ... The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, providing most of an eyes optical power [1]. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light and, as a result, helps the eye to focus. ... Aphakia is the absence of the lens of the eye, due to surgical removal, perforating wound or ulcer, or congenital anomaly; causes a loss of accommodation, hyperopia, and a deep anterior chamber. ... Refraction error, also known as refractive error, is an error in the focusing of light by the eye and a frequent reason for reduced visual acuity. ...
The only "cure" is corneal transplant (penetrating keratoplasty or epikeratoplasty).
For patients with no scarring near the center of the cornea, another option may be surgically grafting a layer of epithelial cells to flatten the cone-shaped cornea in a process called epikeratophakia.
It has results comparable to corneal transplantation and, if it is unsuccessful, it can be followed by corneal transplantation.
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