Longterm follow-up of penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to describe the current visual and refractive status of patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for keratoconus > 20 years ago and to report on the current status of their grafts.


METHODS
A total of 138 eyes in 103 patients were grafted for keratoconus between August 1968 and December 1985. Patients who had not undergone retransplantation were invited to attend a clinical examination. Forty-eight patients (with 61 grafts) accepted the invitation and were examined.


RESULTS
The average length of time since PK was 26.9 years (standard deviation [SD] 4.2 years, range 20.8-38.0 years, n = 61). The average graft age at examination was 82.1 years (SD 19.9 years, range 41-115 years). A total of 80% (49 of 61 grafts) of the examined eyes had a clear graft and 46% (28 of 61 eyes) had best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) > or = 0.5. The mean endothelial cell density per mm(2) was 894 (SD 4.6, range 470-1775). The mean central corneal thickness of the clear grafts was 0.565 mm (SD 0.048 mm).


CONCLUSIONS
Penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus has a good longterm prognosis; half of the eyes examined in this study had BSCVA > or = 0.5 at > 20 years after surgery.
Jensen
Lene Bang
LB
Department of Ophthalmolgy, Aarhus University Hospital, Arhus Sygehus, Denmark. lenep74@hotmail.com <lenep74@hotmail.com>
Hjortdal
Jesper
J
Ehlers
Niels
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002452:Cell Count; D002648:Child; D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007640:Keratoconus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology