Ipsilateral Rotational Autokeratoplasty

Corneal opacity is a leading cause of monocular blindness, and corneal transplantation is the most commonly performed solid organ transplantation in the world. Keratoplasty techniques for corneal opacities include lamellar allokeratoplasty and penetrating allokeratoplasty. Ipsilateral rotational autokeratoplasty can be an effective alternative to penetrating allokeratoplasty for some patients with corneal scars. This procedure involves a rotation of the patient%u2019s own cornea to move opacity out of the visual axis. An important consideration when selecting cases for rotational autokeratoplasty is the dimensions of the corneal scar. Although ipsilateral autokeratoplasty may not provide as good a quality of vision as penetrating allokeratoplasty because of higher astigmatism and reduced corneal pupillary clear zone, these disadvantages are often outweighed when the risk of allograft rejection is high, as in pediatric patients and those with vascularised corneas. This technique would at least partially resolve the issue of scarcity of donor corneal tissue in developing countries