Are halos around lights normal after a corneal transplant?

What's normal

Halos happen when light scatters instead of focusing cleanly. A cornea that is still swollen after surgery, or one held in an irregular shape by sutures, scatters a lot of light, so headlights and streetlights can spread into rings. Glare and starbursts at night come from the same cause.

After DSAEK or DMEK, halos usually improve as the new endothelial cells pump the swelling out and the cornea clears over the first weeks to a couple of months. After a full thickness graft, glare often persists longer and improves as sutures are removed and the shape settles, alongside the rest of the visual recovery that may take a year or longer.

If you had DMEK or DSAEK, the bubble in your eye can also create odd optical effects in the first days, including a dark curved edge that moves with your head.

Usually improve over weeks after endothelial grafts and over months after a full thickness graft.

When it stops being normal

Halos that appear or worsen suddenly, especially with eye pain, a red eye, or blurred vision, can be a sign of high eye pressure or of rejection. Both are handled better early.

In the first days after an endothelial graft, pain with halos or foggy vision can also mean the bubble is pushing pressure up, so call your surgeon's office rather than waiting for the next scheduled visit.