Eccentric lamellar keratolimbal grafts harvested with a manually guided microkeratome. Technical report.
BACKGROUND
To perform lamellar keratolimbal allograft transplantation in a one-step procedure with a single graft, we investigated the feasibility of harvesting eccentric lamellar keratolimbal grafts from conventionally processed corneoscleral buttons using a manually guided microkeratome in conjunction with an artificial anterior chamber system.


METHODS
We used the Moria LSK-One microkeratome and the automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (ALTK) system (Antony, France). Ten human donor eyes were used to obtain single-piece lamellar keratolimbal grafts. Specimens were processed for light and electron microscopy.


RESULTS
Eccentric keratolimbal grafts could be obtained from all human donor buttons. Grafts include a crescent-shaped limbal and a large corneal portion. No visible damage to the limbal region was discernible.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data show that the LSK-One microkeratome in conjunction with the ALTK system allows harvesting eccentric keratolimbal grafts from donor corneoscleral buttons.
Grueterich
Martin
M
Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. Martin.Grueterich@med.uni-muenchen.de
Kenyon
Kenneth R
KR
Priglinger
Siegfried
S
Welge-Luessen
Ulrich
U
Lackerbauer
Carlo
C
Kampik
A
A
D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000166:cytology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000295:instrumentation*