J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2006 Apr;47(4):519-524.

Evaluation of Donor Corneal Endothelium after Keratoplasty

• Gil SY
• Park CK
• Hahn TW

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the difference in donor corneal cell changes after penetrating keratoplasty in various corneal diseases.
METHODS
Subjects included 36 eyes from 35 people with at least 6 months of follow-up who had undergone penetrating keratoplasty between August 2000 and December 2002. The patients were classified into three groups based on the state of the corneal endothelium. Changes in cell density, polymorphisms, and polymegathism of the donor cornea were compared between groups. Results were analyzed by ANOVA.
RESULTS
The overall corneal endothelial cell density after grafting was lower, but the differences in endothelial cell states between the recipient cases were not statistically significant. The change in corneal endothelial cell density showed a significantly higher difference (p=0.0013) when patients had either undergone a rejection episode during recovery or recurred herpetic uveitis.
CONCLUSIONS
The preoperative state of the corneal endothelium may affect the survival of donor corneal endothelium after grafting. However, rejection of the transplant contributes more significantly to the survival of the donor corneal endothelium than other factors. We suggest close observation and keen therapy with respect to rejection after grafting.

Keyword

Corneal endothelial cell density; Penetrating keratoplasty; Rejection

MeSH Terms

Cell Count
Cornea
Corneal Diseases
Corneal Transplantation*
Endothelial Cells
Endothelium, Corneal*
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Keratoplasty, Penetrating
Tissue Donors*
Transplants
Uveitis