How long does a graft last?

[Dipesh39]

Hi all,

Can someone please help with some advice? I've been doing some reading today and read several articles that suggests that a graft only lasts 10 - 12 odd years.

I have to admit I'm suddenly terrified It's been eight years since my left eye was grafted and no real hassle since - no rejection episodes.

The good news is that every optom I've seen since said my surgeon did an excellent job and with a hard lens 20/60 vision is achieveable. With a soft lens about 20/20 and the same for glasses.

So vision's not an issue at the mo but what does the future hold?

Any advice really appreciated! Dipesh

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi Dipesh and welcome!
My grafts (one in each eye) were done in 1986 and 1988 and they're both going strong. And there are people on this forum with grafts older than mine. I think the trouble is that no one has done a proper long term study following up people with corneal transplants so most studies seem to quote the statistics for 5 year survival rates. Interesting, but not much use to those of us who want to know if our grafts will last for life. Certainly the surgeon who did mine does think that there's no reason why our grafts shouldn't outlive us. Having said that, I know we have a few members who have needed a regraft around 25-30 years after the original graft. And regrafts done at that stage seem to be very successful. So I continue to be optimistic about mine (and I did have some rejection episodes early on). Plus there are constantly improvements in graft techniques and greater understanding of how transplants function.
So here's wishing your graft a long and happy life!
Anne

[Andrew MacLean]

Dipesh

Welcome to the forum.

I am 60, my grafts are 7 and 5 years old and I confidently expect them to be working well until I shrug off this mortal coil.

There are all sorts of things that can reduce the life of a graft, but fortunately i have been beset by none of them.

Yours aye

Andrew

[GarethB]

The reason many ophthalmologists quote 10 - 12 years is because that is how far most studies on graft survival go to plus after 10 yeears many graft recipients drop out of the NHS system, often because they are managing very well post graft with nothing more than glasses that can be provided by any highstreet optom.

My right graft will be 21 in july and my left 20 in July and if you vere get to attend a support group meeting, KC Group Confrence or AGM you will often find people with grafts that are even older.

According to my consultant (and he isn't the one who did my grafts as I live in a different part of the country now) says that of any transplant the cornea is the most successful and of any patient group that requires transplants, those with KC have by far the highest success rate.

[Ali Akay]

hi Dipesh

I've seen many many patients over the years with grafts over 25-30 years old, so the notion that they last for 10-12 years is very pessimistic. As Gareth said, corneal grafts for KC are the most successful tissue transplant (from the point of rejection) because the cornea has no blood supply which greatly reduces risk of rejection, and with KC the cornea is essentially healthy except for distortion related to thinning. Nowadays, where possible, grafts are age-matched which reduces the risk of the grafts being say 80 years old when the patient is only 50! Having said that, there is inevitably some loss of endothelial cells (the very bottom layer of cornea responsible for stopping the cornea getting cloudy) during surgery, so grafts will eventually fail but, for most people it'd be a lot longer than 10-12 years, and few KC patients need regrafting during their life-time.

So, stop worrying!! As Anne said, if you need regrafting at some stage, technology is improving all the time so the future is bright!

[John Thatcher]

Hi Dipesh,

Here's another example to give some comfort, I have a graft that will be 30 years old in October and is still going strong (and at that point it will be just under half my age).

I have found though that asking how long one lasts never gets a straight answer and I think there are just too many variables to generalise.

Good luck with yours

John

[director]

Mine lasted 25 years. I believe it could have lasted longer (though I don't know that for fact), if I would not have been creating so much stress in my life at the time it rejected.

I'd say take great care of your health - and -- you might be an agent of co-creating longevity for your corneal transplant like with the rest of your body. Don't know that for sure. But it's certainly worth the effort; healthy diet and exercise mean a boost to the immune system. And, I have heard that the most common cause of transplant rejection is stress.

[Andrew MacLean]

director

Welcome to the forum.

Every good wish

Andrew

[Loopy-Lou]

Director, please could you tell us what happened to yours, was it graft failure or rejection?

[armalhi]

My right eye was grafted 15 yrs ago. Graft is going strong (Alhamdulillah). I hope that It lasts a life time. There's no reason why our grafts shouldn't outlive us.
Regards,
Ali Rizwan