Cornea and External Eye Disease | Conditions & Treatments

Overview

The cornea is the clear outer layer that covers the front of your eye. It helps protect the rest of your eye from germs and debris and also helps focus light into your eye. Corneal disease can severely affect your vision if not treated promptly and effectively.

UR Medicine’s Flaum Eye Institute provides treatment for a variety of corneal diseases. Some of these common cornea conditions include:

Corneal abrasion. An injury to the eye that scrapes the corneal surface and causes a loss of superficial tissue
Dry eye. Not enough tears, or poor tear quality, causing a burning feeling or the sensation of something in the eye
Keratoconus. A hereditary disease causing thinning and cone-shaping of the central cornea, affecting vision
Fuchs' dystrophy. A progressive corneal disorder causing cloudy, waterlogged cornea, blisters, and reduced vision
Keratitis. An inflammation of the cornea that may be caused by infection, improper contact lens use, or a foreign body in the eye. Associated with redness, pain, blurred or decreased vision, light sensitivity, and excess discharges from the eye.

UR Medicine's Treatments for Cornea & External Eye Disease

UR Medicine’s Flaum Eye Institute is the Rochester region’s only dedicated team of corneal specialists. We are able to treat from the simplest to the most complex corneal disease in both children and adults. We provide evaluation and treatment at our main campus and our satellite offices.

For adult and pediatric evaluation and consultation, advanced diagnostic and treatment options include:

Customized dry eye management
Corneal Transplantation
Therapeutic contact lenses
Collagen corneal crosslinking
Advanced antibiotic therapies
Anterior segment reconstruction
Intraocular lens implantation
Cataract extraction
Excimer laser phototherapeutic procedures
Surgical removal of corneal defects
Implantable contact lenses

What Sets Us Apart?

Our team of fellowship-trained corneal specialists is the largest in the region, and some of our physicians are listed in Best Doctors in America®. We treat everything from the most routine to the most complex diseases, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to care. As a leader in education, we are also training the next generation of corneal specialists through our fellowship program.

We have a growing number of locations throughout the region for your convenience. Each is equipped with the latest and most advanced diagnostic equipment and many of our offices have full-service optical shops where you can purchase glasses and contact lenses.

Our main facility includes our own surgery center on the second floor of Strong Memorial Hospital, just below the Eye Institute’s faculty practice clinic. We have a second ambulatory surgery center located on Sawgrass Drive and also perform some corneal procedures at our Meridian Centre location.

Equipped with the region’s most up-to-date surgical equipment, we’re able to routinely perform complex procedures that were once referred to eye care centers hundreds of miles away, saving you time and keeping you close to home.

We’re also part of National Clinical Trials and are ranked in the top 20 in eye research funding in the United States, including an NIH-funded corneal research program. So, you can be assured that our care is informed by the latest scientific discoveries.