J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  1997 Jul;38(7):1121-1127.

Clinical Evaluation of the Graft Rejection after Penetrating Keratoplasty

• Seo JS
• Jeong SK
• Yang KJ
• Park YG

Abstract

In order to evaluate risk factors (sex, age, preoperative diagnoses, graft size, neovascularization of the recipient cornea, bilaterality, history of the previous graft failure, doner corneal preservation method, phakic status, glaucoma and enucleation time after death) influencing graft rejection, we reviewed 96 eyes underwent penetrating keratoplasty at the Chonnam University Hospital from May 1992 to December 1995, retrospectively. The rate of the graft rejection in penetrating keratoplasty was 34.3% (33 eyes). In detail, graft rejection occurred in 16 eyes(47%) among 34 vascularized corneas of recipient(R=18.0, P=0.000), 23 eyes(69.7%) among 33 vascularized orneas of donor side after operation (R=0.3, P=0.010), 5 eyes(35.7%) among 14 bilateral grafts, 4 eyes (57.1%) among 7 eyes having a history of graft failure, 6 eyes(40.0%) among 15 aphakic eyes(R=3.84, P=0.033), and 14 eyes among 32 eyes enucleated longer than 6 hours after death (R=10.1, P=0.002). In contrast, graft rejection occurred in 13 eyes (76.5%) among 17 postoperative glaucomatous eyes and in 20 eyes (25.3%) among 79 postoperative non-glaucomatous eyes, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups(P>0.05). These results suggest that neovascularzation of the either donor or recipient cornea, aphakic status of the recipient eyes, and enucleation time longer than 6 hours after death are high risk factors for graft rejection.

Keyword

Graft rejection; Penetrating keratoplasty; Vascularized graft

MeSH Terms

Cornea
Diagnosis
Glaucoma
Graft Rejection*
Humans
Jeollanam-do
Keratoplasty, Penetrating*
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Tissue Donors
Transplants*