An adjustable single running suture technique to reduce postkeratoplasty astigmatism. A preliminary report.
The authors compared postkeratoplasty astigmatism over a 4-month period after surgery in a randomized, prospective study of two groups of patients (total N = 18) who received two different suture techniques. The test group N = 8) had a single running suture with postoperative suture adjustment; on the basis of computer-assisted topographic analysis, the suture was tightened in the flatter meridian and loosened in the steeper meridian in the first month after surgery. The control group (N = 10) had a standard double running suture procedure with no postoperative adjustment; the single running 10-0 nylon suture was removed 3 months after surgery. Four months after penetrating keratoplasty, mean (+/- standard deviation) astigmatism in the test group was 1.7 +/- 0.7 diopters (D), and all patients had less than 2.6 D of astigmatism. In the control group, mean astigmatism was significantly higher (5.4 +/- 2.4 D; range, 0.7-9.0 D; P less than 0.01). The results suggest that postkeratoplasty astigmatism can be reduced with the single running suture technique accompanied by postoperative suture adjustment.
LSU Eye Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center School of Medicine, New Orleans.
D T
DT
Lin
S E
SE
Wilson
J J
JJ
Reidy
S D
SD
Klyce
M B
MB
McDonald
H E
HE
Kaufman
J I
JI
McNeill
D001251:Astigmatism / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D013536:Suture Techniques