Artist’s Note:
One of the surgeries that first heightened my interest in ophthalmology was the cornea transplant. Observing through the microscope, I was astonished by the surgeon’s deft movements creating tiny sutures along the rim of the transplant. He was performing what is called a “penetrating keratoplasty (PK)”, where donor cornea tissue is used to replace a patient’s damaged cornea. It can be used to treat conditions such as keratoconus or corneal perforation. After meeting patients for whom corneal transplantation had been life-changing, I was further amazed by this procedure and inspired to pursue a career in ophthalmology. During an ophthalmology conference’s wet lab, I had the opportunity to practice performing “Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK)”, a partial thickness cornea transplant procedure where only the inner endothelium and Descemet’s membrane are replaced. While I’m not trained to operate in the OR yet, creating this drawing of a cornea transplant (PK) is, of sorts, a means for me to simulate trying my own hand at ophthalmology’s microsurgeries, and a cheers to the beginnings of my journey in the field!
Kimberley Yu is an MS4 at the Perelman School of Medicine.
