Consultant ophthalmologist and corneal specialist Mr Sathish Srinivasan carried out the life-changing procedure for the first time in Scotland earlier this month.
Mrs Gretta Biggar, of Kilmarnock, had the highly specialised surgery at Ayr Hospital on 23 May 2008, recovering the sight in her affected eye by the following week.
Mr Srinivasan said: "The traditional corneal transplant operation is usually done under a general anaesthetic and involves the patient staying in hospital for 2-3 days. More importantly, we put in about 20 stitches and these stitches stay for at least 12 to 15 months before we can remove them.
"The recovery of eyesight is very slow, taking up 15 to 18 months to get some useful eyesight back in the operated eye."
The new, highly specialised corneal transplant surgery involves replacing only the affected layers of the cornea. Mr Srinivasan was trained in this new technique – called Endothelial Keratoplasty - at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he underwent advanced training in corneal surgery between 2005 and 2007.
A special instrument called "automated microkeratome" is used to divide the donor cornea into two layers, and the inner layer of the donor cornea is used to selectively replace the inner layer in the patient's cornea.
The new procedure is a giant step forward in the field of corneal transplantation.
Mr Srinivasan said: "We carry out the new procedure under a local anaesthetic, the patient only needs to come into hospital for the day - and most importantly it doesn't involve sutures (stitches).
"As this procedure is sutureless, patients recover their vision in weeks, compared to almost 15 to 18 months with the traditional operation."
The Ayr Hospital ophthalmology surgical team have since carried out their second procedure, again successfully, and have around 20 patients currently lined up for the new procedure.