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Corneal transplantation using 4‐week banked donor material. Long‐term results
Author(s) -
Andersen Jørgen,
Ehlers Niels
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1987.tb08508.x
Subject(s) - dioptre , medicine , astigmatism , transplantation , corneal transplantation , surgery , visual acuity , ophthalmology , cornea , intraocular pressure , physics , optics
. Thirty‐six corneal transplantations employing banked donor material maintained during prolonged storage (mean: 29.5 days) in organ culture at 31°C were followed for 5 years. The overall graft survival was 80%, and graft failures were almost exclusively found in a pre‐operatively defined risk group where the survival rate was 49.6% compared with 95.5% in the non‐risk group. Five years after transplantation the mean central thickness of surviving grafts was 0.52 mm and the mean endothelial cell density 862 cells/mm 2 . All grafts were optically clear judged by slit‐lamp appearance even though a higher degree of ligt‐scatter was demonstrated compared with controls. The functional results were satisfactory with an over‐all mean visual acuity of 0.67 cc. Excluding cases where low visual performance had non‐corneal causes, 88% of patients obtained 0.5 cc or better. The median spherical equivalent of corneal curvature was 8.23 mm and the median astigmatism 4 diopters. Intraocular pressure was normal, and all grafts had obtained some degree of sensibility, although reduced compared with controls. The study demonstrates that banked donor material can be successfully employed for corneal transplantation achieving favourable long‐term results.