[Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK): two-year results].
OBJECTIVE
To report the two-year results of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) for managing corneal endothelial disorders.


METHODS
Non-randomized prospective clinical trial. A DMEK was performed in ten patients with Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy or bullous keratopathy. A 3.5 mm clear corneal incision was made and "under air" DM was stripped off from the posterior stroma. A 9.0 mm diameter, organ cultured donor DM roll was inserted into a recipient anterior chamber, positioned into the posterior stroma and secured by completely filling the anterior chamber with air for 30 minutes.


RESULTS
Three eyes showed complete detachment of the tissue; this was managed by a secondary Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty procedure. The remaining seven eyes had a best corrected visual acuity of >or=0.7 in three eyes (43%) at one month, in five eyes (71%) at six months, and in six eyes (86%) at one and two years. At six months, the endothelial cell density averaged 2039 (+/-373) cells/mm2 (n=7), at one year 1925 (+/-267) cells/mm2 (n=7) and at two years 1730 (+/-400) cells/mm2 (n=6).


CONCLUSIONS
DMEK may provide quick and nearly complete visual rehabilitation. Since the donor tissue can be stripped from donor corneo-scleral rims, the procedure may be readily accessible to most corneal surgeons.
Dapena
I
I
Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. isadapena@gmail.com
Ham
L
L
Lie
J
J
Van-Der-Wees
J
J
Melles
G R J
GR
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002102:Cadaver; D002452:Cell Count; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000601:surgery*; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014792:Visual Acuity