Department News

Artificial Cornea Program
University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

The University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary's Artificial Cornea Program helps people with severe eye disease or injury for whom traditional corneal transplantation from human donors is not an option. Artificial cornea implantation, called keratoprosthesis, or k-pro, is a procedure designed to help patients whose conditions are the most difficult to treat.

Dimitri Azar MD, professor and head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Dr. Jose de la Cruz are experts on the kpro procedure, having trained at Harvard Medical School under Claes Dohlman MD, the cornea surgeon who developed the procedure.

Learn more about Keratoprosthesis

Read a recent patient story in the Chicago Sun Times

Read a recent patient story in the Chicago Tribune