Endothelial quality of pre-cut posterior corneal lamellae for Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty with a stromal rim (DMEK-S): two-year outcome of manual preparation in an ocular tissue bank

• Published in: Cell and tissue banking 2013-06, Vol.14 (2), p.325-331
• Main Authors: Krabcova, Ivana, Studeny, Pavel, Jirsova, Katerina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Apoptosis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell Biology; Cell Count; Cornea; Cornea - cytology; Cornea - surgery; Corneal Diseases - surgery; Corneal Stroma - cytology; Corneal Stroma - surgery; Descemet Membrane - cytology; Descemet Membrane - surgery; Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty - methods; Endothelium, Corneal - cytology; Endothelium, Corneal - surgery; Eye Banks; Eye surgery; Female; Humans; Life Sciences; Male; Middle Aged; Ophthalmology; Original Paper; Retrospective Studies; Tissue Culture Techniques - methods; Tissue engineering; Transplant Surgery
• ISSN: 1389-9333; 1573-6814
• DOI: 10.1007/s10561-012-9327-z

To assess the quantitative and qualitative parameters of pre-cut posterior corneal lamellae for Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty with a stromal rim (DMEK-S) prepared manually in the Ocular Tissue Bank Prague. All 65 successfully prepared pre-cut posterior corneal lamellae provided for grafting during a 2-year period were analyzed retrospectively. The lamellae, consisting of a central zone of endothelium-Descemet membrane surrounded by a supporting peripheral stromal rim, were prepared manually from corneoscleral buttons having an endothelial cell density higher than 2,500 cells/mm 2 . The live endothelial cell density, the percentage of dead cells, the hexagonality and the coefficient of variation were assessed before and immediately after preparation as well as after 2 days of organ culture storage at 31 °C. Altogether, the endothelium of 57 lamellae was assessed. Immediately after preparation, the mean live endothelial cell density was 2,835 cells/mm 2 and, on average, 1.8 % of dead cells were found. After 2 days of storage, the cell density decreased significantly to 2,757 cells/mm 2 and the percentage of dead cells to 1.0 %. There was a significant change in the mean hexagonality and the coefficient of variation after lamellar preparation and subsequent storage. The amount of tissue wasted during the preparation was 23 %. The endothelial cell density of posterior corneal lamellae sent for DMEK-S was higher than 2,700 cells/mm 2 in average with a low percentage of dead cells; 65 pre-cut tissues were used for grafting during a 2-year period.