Chinese expert consensus on pediatric corneal transplantation (2022)

Abstract

Pediatric keratoplasty is a highly challenging and demanding procedure in children because of various intraoperative morphologic and functional factors and postoperative complications. However, it remains the only way to promote visual development and to avoid corneal blindness in infants and children with corneal opacities. Corneal transplantation in children is different from that in adults in many aspects, such as surgical techniques and clinical evaluation. Besides, it poses more emphases on the perioperative management and the long-term follow-up, because children are less cooperative when examined and are not readily complaining about symptoms. This article is aimed to provide a consensus concerning the indications, preoperative evaluation, surgical procedures and postoperative management regarding pediatric keratoplasty. The consensus, which is based on the results from discussions and consultations among domestic leading researchers and experts with extensive experiences in the related areas, targets to standardize the procedure of pediatric keratoplasty in clinical practice, to minimize the risk of graft failure and to achieve promising outcomes.