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Longterm follow‐up of penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus
Author(s) -
Jensen Lene Bang,
Hjortdal Jesper,
Ehlers Niels
Publication year - 2010
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.1755-3768.2009.01525.x
Subject(s) - keratoconus , medicine , visual acuity , ophthalmology , corneal topography , surgery , corneal transplantation , cornea
. Purpose: This study aims to describe the current visual and refractive status of patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for keratoconus > 20 years ago and to report on the current status of their grafts. Methods: A total of 138 eyes in 103 patients were grafted for keratoconus between August 1968 and December 1985. Patients who had not undergone retransplantation were invited to attend a clinical examination. Forty‐eight patients (with 61 grafts) accepted the invitation and were examined. Results: The average length of time since PK was 26.9 years (standard deviation [SD] 4.2 years, range 20.8–38.0 years, n = 61). The average graft age at examination was 82.1 years (SD 19.9 years, range 41–115 years). A total of 80% (49 of 61 grafts) of the examined eyes had a clear graft and 46% (28 of 61 eyes) had best spectacle‐corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) ≥ 0.5. The mean endothelial cell density per mm 2 was 894 (SD 4.6, range 470–1775). The mean central corneal thickness of the clear grafts was 0.565 mm (SD 0.048 mm). Conclusions: Penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus has a good longterm prognosis; half of the eyes examined in this study had BSCVA ≥ 0.5 at > 20 years after surgery.