BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to describe the indications, complications, and outcomes of penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in Saudi Arabia.
METHODS: In a retrospective, noncomparative interventional case series, the medical records of patients who underwent PKP from January 2000 to December 2008 and had a minimum follow-up of 6 months were reviewed. All corneas were obtained from eye banks in the US. Indications, complications, and outcomes of surgery were recorded. This study was approved by the institutional review board.
RESULTS: Eighty-five consecutive eyes were included in this study. There were 52 (61.2%) males and 33 (38.8%) females. The median age was 35.0 years (range 3-85 years), and the median follow-up period was 24 months (range 6-108 months). The indications for PKP were keratoconus, bullous keratopathy, corneal scars, corneal dystrophy, and corneal regraft. The overall graft survival time was 88.9 months ± 4.9 months (mean ± standard error of mean, 95% confidence interval [CI] 79.4 months -98.4 months) while the 3-year and 5-year cumulative survival rates were 90.7% and 84.3%, respectively. Surgical indication (P = 0.038), immune rejection (P < 0.001), preoperative corneal vascularization (P = 0.022), and perioperative high intraocular pressure (P = 0.032) were associated significantly with corneal graft failure in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis reduced these significant associations to rejection (P < 0.001) and vascularization (P = 0.009). Relative risk for failure in rejected cornea was 16.22 (95% CI 4.99-52.69) and in vascularized cornea was 3.89 (95% CI 1.36-11.09). At last visit following PKP, 34 (40%) eyes had best spectacle-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better, and 51 (60.0%) eyes had 20/80 or better. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was worse than 20/400 in 15 (17.6%) eyes.
CONCLUSION: The overall corneal graft survival in a private setting in Saudi Arabia can be excellent. Thorough preoperative evaluation and comprehensive postoperative management are crucial for successful corneal transplantation. A larger multicenter study is recommended to portray the outcome of private corneal transplantation in Saudi Arabia in general.
KEYWORDS: bullous keratopathy; cornea; corneal dystrophy; corneal scars; corneal transplantation; herpetic keratitis; keratoconus
Four hundred (400) students studying first year Medicine, Dentistry, Laboratory Technology, Pharmacy, Biomedicine and Bioengineering degree courses in the University of Malaya were assessed on their awareness and knowledge on eye donation using an open ended questionnaire. The majority of the students (344, 86%) in this study were aware about eye donation; the awareness was higher in biomedical (77.1%) and medical students (76.7%) compared to the others (55.9%-70.7%). One hundred and eight students (27%) were willing to donate their eyes. Most of the students (376, 94%) did not know about any eye bank in Malaysia. One hundred and sixty (40%) students were aware that whole eye can be removed from the donor and 101 (25.25%) were aware that the cornea can be removed separately. However, only 121 (30.25%) knew that donated eyes were used for corneal grafting. More than half of the students (231, 57.7%) did not know that the donor eye could be stored before transplantation. The results of this study indicate that there is a need to educate the young adults in our society about corneal transplantation so that they can in turn motivate other members of society and their own family members to become eye donors, thus facilitating the availability of donor corneas for corneal transplantation in Malaysia.
We studied by scanning electron microscopy the effects of the repeated use of a newly-designed, disposable, suction trephine (Microsurgical, Ltd, Bedfordshire, England) on the nature of the cut of successive corneal buttons from sheep eyes. After the trephine was used more than nine times, the cut edge became more irregular as successive buttons were produced. Also, progressively greater degrees of endothelial cells adjacent to the cut edge were lost. Although the corneal buttons initially were circular, those produced after the 20th cut became more oval. These results suggest that a disposable corneal trephine should be reused no more than nine times.
A middle-aged gentleman with history of left penetrating keratoplatsy presented with left eye perforated corneal graft secondary to infective keratitis. The affected eye was blind from absolute steroid-induced glaucoma. In view of expected poor graft survival in a blind eye, globe removal was offered. However, the patient refused the treatment and request for another corneal graft. This case highlights both the possibility of good outcome of cornea graft in such a case, and also illustrates that patient’s autonomy to refuse treatment option outweighs beneficence.
The present work was to determine the development and re-epithelization of bilayered corneal construct (BCC) in vitro and in vivo using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The in vitro BCC was transplanted to the rabbit's eye and after 90 days the BCC was harvested and analyzed. The corneas were processed for morphology studies. The result indicates that the BICC that was transplanted for 90 days showed good development and re-epithelization of epithelial layer similar to the normal cornea.
This case report is about a rare disease with unusual presentation. Failure to recognise atypical presentation may lead to error in managing the patient and cause disastrous complications. Here we highlight a case of Terrien Marginal Degeneration in both eyes with atypical presentation; namely pseudopterygium. A 22 year old man was referred to our centre for iatrogenic right eye corneal perforation after having an atypical pterygium removed at another hospital. On arrival, his vision was 1/60 in both eyes with bilateral cornea Terrien Marginal Degeneration. His right eye anterior chamber was deep with a conjunctival flap covering the perforation site which was located from the 2.30 - 3.30 clock position nasally with no aqueous leak. However after a day his right eye anterior chamber became flat and there was fast aqueous leak from the perforation site. An emergency C shaped peripheral corneal lamellar keratoplasty was performed to seal the perforation. Post operatively his right eye improved to 6/24.
Objective: To highlight the clinical presentation of CMV endotheliitis and the challenge in diagnosing this condition in recurrent failed penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Methods: Case series Results: There are 3 cases of recurrent failure in PK secondary to CMV endotheliitis presented. Case 1 and 2 were pseudophakic patients, while in case 3, the patient had a previous history of recurrent anterior uveitis. Case 1 and 3 had four and one previous failed PK respectively, while case 2 had endothelial keratoplasty twice before the diagnosis of CMV endotheliitis was made, following positive culture of aqueous humour. The visual acuity ranged from 1/60 to hand movement. All patients had pigmented KP, and two of them had typical coin-shaped KP. Oral valganciclovir was instituted for all patients consisting of 900 mg bidaily for two weeks, followed by 900 mg once daily for six months. Additionally, topical ganciclovir eyedrop 0.5% was given every four hours with topical dexaminim four times a day. Repeated anterior chamber (AC) tap after six months of treatment was negative for CMV in case 3 while cases 1 and 2 are still on treatment. CMV endotheliitis is an increasingly important cause of failed corneal transplant. We recommend anterior chamber tap in suspicious cases of repeatedly failed corneal transplant, regardless of the presence of coin-shaped KP or not. Minimum treatment with oral valganciclovir is important to eradicate the problem, before proceeding with another corneal transplant. Conclusion: It is important to make an accurate early diagnosis by good clinical judgement in preventing loss of corneal endothelial cells. High index of suspicion for CMV endotheliitis as a cause of graft failure must be made especially when the patient presents with coin-shaped KP. Therefore unnecessary treatment resulting from misdiagnosis in these patients can be prevented. Early recognition and treatment of this condition is important to prevent permanent endothelial cell loss and corneal decompensation.
A 42-year-old man from Ghana presented with bilateral painful corneal perforations following ingestion of a sulphur-based antibiotic. Emergency bilateral penetrating keratoplasty was performed, with restoration of globe integrity. However, surgical complications arose such as non-healing epithelial defect, secondary infection, graft dehiscence, and mounting intraocular pressure. This case illustrates the challenges faced in managing corneal grafts in patients with already compromised ocular surfaces.
Corneal perforation is an ocular emergency that requires early intervention to avoid permanent visual loss from endophthalmitis or irreversible structural changes. Although tectonic keratoplasty is the best choice for patching a large perforation, a donor cornea is not always immediately available. Consequently, an alternative material is required while awaiting a donor cornea. We report the use of preserved bovine pericardium as a temporizing graft to maintain the ocular integrity in two patients with corneal perforation.
This study was conducted to explore the feasibility of culturing conjunctiva epithelial cells in serum-free and feeder layer-free culture system with regard to the cell morphology and immunocytochemistry of the rabbit bulbar, fornix and palpebral conjunctiva epithelia. The results showed that epithelium cells from all the three conjunctiva regions can be cultured in a serum-free and feeder layer-free environment. We obtained highest epithelial growth from fornix region with minimum invasion of fibroblast cells compared to other area. All cultured cells were stained positive for cytokeratin 19 and MUC5AC and negative for cytokeratin 3. These findings suggested that fornix was a better source of cells for the development of tissue engineered conjunctiva for future clinical application.
The hazy corneal donor-recipient interface after corneal transplant may cause difficulties when implanting the XEN gel stent via ab-interno approach. We aim to describe XEN gel stent implantation via ab-externo approach in refractory steroid-induced glaucoma after corneal lamellar keratoplasty. Under local anaesthesia, the XEN injector needle was inserted 7 mm behind the limbus with the bevel facing up, directly beneath the conjunctiva and advanced to the marked 2.5 mm scleral entry wound. The needle then pierced the sclera until the needle tip was just visible in the anterior chamber (AC). The slider was pushed until the tip of the XEN stent was seen in the AC. The needle was slowly withdrawn while still pushing the slider to complete stent deployment. Subconjunctival Mitomycin C 0.01% (30 µg/0.3 mL) was then injected posterior to the bleb. Three eyes of three patients with steroid-induced glaucoma after lamellar keratoplasty underwent XEN gel stent implantation via ab-externo approach placed at the superotemporal quadrant. Pre-operatively, all patients had uncontrolled IOP between 30-45 mmHg despite maximum medications and selective laser trabeculoplasty. After XEN gel stent implantation, IOP ranged between 10-17 mmHg with one or two topical antiglaucoma at 12 months. Complications include hypotony maculopathy, stent migration and hyphaema, all of which were successfully managed. Corneal graft remained clear at 12 months. XEN gel stent implantation via ab-externo approach is able to achieve good intraocular pressure (IOP) control without compromising cornea graft in patients with steroid-induced glaucoma after lamellar keratoplasty at 12 months.