Femtosecond laser-assisted Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty: a prospective study of 6-month visual outcomes, corneal thickness and endothelial cell loss

• Published in: International ophthalmology 2020-08, Vol.40 (8), p.2065-2075
• Main Authors: Chen, Huiyu, Tian, Lijia, Le, Qihua, Zhao, Feng, Zhao, Yujin, Chen, Yan, Yang, Yujing, Hong, Jiaxu, Xu, Jianjiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acuity; Cell density; Cornea; Corneal transplantation; Dystrophy; Endothelial cells; Eye (anatomy); Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Ophthalmology; Original Paper; Stripping; Thickness; Visual acuity
• ISSN: 0165-5701; 1573-2630
• DOI: 10.1007/s10792-020-01383-8

Purpose To report 6-month outcomes of visual acuity, the corneal thickness and endothelial cell density (ECD) in patients undergoing femtosecond laser-assisted Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty (FS-DSEK). Methods This prospective, consecutive, interventional series examined 25 eyes of 25 patients who underwent FS-DSEK for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy and bullous keratopathy. The pre-cut corneal endothelial graft thickness (CET) was 150 µm. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central corneal thickness (CCT), donor CET, recipient corneal stromal thickness (CST) and ECD were assessed at 1 week and 1, 2, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Results The mean BCVA at 6 months was 0.76 ± 0.35 logMAR units, improving from 1.54 ± 0.52 logMAR. CCT decreased significantly, from 759.8 ± 152.4 µm at 1 week to 631.7 ± 79.7 µm at 6 months ( P  = 0.001) postoperatively. CET recovered to 153.4 ± 33.7 µm ( P  = 0.076) at 6 months as pre-cut status. The CST decreased from 561.5 ± 96.3 µm at 1 week to 479.7 ± 57.9 µm at 6 months ( P