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Vernin A, Schrittenlocher S, Matthaei M, Roters S, Siebelmann S, Bachmann B, Schiller P, Cursiefen C, Schlereth SL. Excimer Laser Phototherapeutic Keratectomy for Anterior Corneal Opacification After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty. Cornea 2024; 43:95-104. [PMID: 37772880 DOI: 10.1097/ico.0000000000003396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the long-term outcome of excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) for treating remaining anterior corneal opacities after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). METHODS This cohort study analyzed 67 eyes of 66 patients undergoing PTK in addition to and after DMEK between 2012 and 2021 at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne. Patients who were treated by PTK after previous DMEK on the same eye were included. The outcome parameters were best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), changes in refraction, endothelial cell density, corneal densitometry, central corneal thickness, and total corneal higher order aberrations. Patients with visual limitations in addition to anterior opacification were analyzed separately for their visual outcome. Eyes with severe visual limitations that have a very limited visual potential were excluded from the study. In addition, patients with not at least 1 postoperative follow-up examination were excluded from the study. RESULTS In this study, 67 eyes of 66 patients met all inclusion criteria. The median follow-up period was 13.1 (quartiles: 4.1; 30.7; interquartile range 26.6) months. The mean (±SD) BCVA improved from (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) 0.54 (±0.32) to 0.38 (±0.27) at the first postoperative visit ( P < 0.001) and remained significantly improved at all follow-up examinations compared with preoperative BCVA. Refraction and endothelial cell density did not change significantly after PTK. There was a significant decrease in corneal backscatter in the anterior corneal layer ( P < 0.001), and the total higher order aberration ( P = 0.02) and central corneal thickness were significantly reduced at the most recent postoperative visit ( P < 0.001). No immune reactions were observed. CONCLUSIONS Excimer laser PTK after DMEK for persisting anterior corneal opacities has the potential to significantly improve patients' vision without affecting refractive parameters or endothelial cell density.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Vernin
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Silvia Schrittenlocher
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Mario Matthaei
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sigrid Roters
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sebastian Siebelmann
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- EyeCenter Solingen, Solingen Germany
- Schumpeter School of Health and Economics, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Björn Bachmann
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Petra Schiller
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Claus Cursiefen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- CECAD, Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany; and
- Center of Molecular Medicine Cologne, CMMC, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Simona L Schlereth
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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