Corneal examination in patients with bullous keratopathy before and after endothelial keratoplasty

Abstract

To evaluate corneal status in patients with bullous keratopathy before and after endothelial keratoplasty. A total of 16 patients (18 eyes) with bullous keratopathy were examined before and after DSAEK. Confocal microscopy ("Nidek", Japan) was used for corneal status evaluation. Follow-up examinations were performed 3, 6, and 24 months after the surgery. In all patients minor corneal opacity persisted for the whole follow-up period but tended to decrease. It is shown that visual acuity is most dependent on light scattering in the anterior stroma. Anterior stromal haze is shown to have greater impact on visual acuity than opacities, folds, and birefringent deposits within the host-donor interface. Duration of bullous keratopathy, patient's age, and comorbidity are the factors that influence anterior and deep stromal haze development and changes over time.