CORNEA SCARRING AND TRAUMA CORNEA SCARRING IS ATTRIBUTED TO INJURY OF THE CORNEAL SURFACE (caused by abrasion, laceration, burns, infection or disease). Vision distortion can range from a blur to total blindness, depending upon the degree of scar tissue formed. Superficial abrasions or burns (such as paper cuts or sunburn) may be painful, but heal transparently. Traumas such as perforations and lacerations, or deeper burns by acids or alkalis, however, can deeply damage the cornea resulting in tissue loss that is replaced by scar tissue. Scarring caused from inflammation, either by infection or disease, can result from an abundance of new blood vessels formed in the healing process that enter into the clear cornea. The vessels create opacity in the cornea disrupting its natural transparency. Severe infection whether bacterial, viral or fungal in origin, is capable of causing blurred or distorted vision due to the ulceration or erosion of cornea tissue that occurs. Diseases such as herpes simplex, syphilis, and keratitis can create blisters or ulcers that impair the cornea tissue and cause vasculation. Conditions such as keratoconus, which thin and stretch the central portion of the cornea in advanced cases, or Fuch's dystrophy, which can form blistering on the outer surface layer, may scar the cornea or distort vision so severely that glasses or contact lenses cannot provide visual acuity. Treatment for advanced conditions may require corneal transplants if scarring is dense. Our Practice l Services l Publications l Map & Directions l Contact Us l Privacy Policy Cataracts l Cornea and External Diseases l Corneal Transplants l Refractive Errors Refractive Surgery l Optics All contents © copyright 2002-2004 Corneal Consultants of Colorado, P.C. All rights reserved. Development by Mindshare HDV. Scarring causes opacity in the corneal tissue that damages the natural transparency of the cornea impeding vision.