Descemet membrane air-bubble separation in donor corneas.
We describe a technique to obtain Descemet-endothelium disks from donors. To detach Descemet membrane, an air bubble was introduced in the deep stroma of human donor corneas mounted on an artificial chamber. In Group A (n = 5), the bubble was left inflated. In Group B (n = 4), the bubble was deflated immediately after the membrane was detached. In Group C (n = 7), the Descemet-endothelium disk was trephined and separated from the stroma after the bubble was deflated. All tissues were stored at 4°C. Descemet detachment was achieved in 89% of the tissues. After 48 hours, the mean endothelial loss was 83% ± 10% (SD), 15% ± 11%, and 3% ± 3% in the 3 groups, respectively. With this technique, Descemet-endothelium disks were obtained without significant alterations in the endothelial layer.
Clinica Oculistica, Centro di Ricerca Clinica e Laboratorio per il Glaucoma e la Cornea, Di.N.O.G., Universita di Genova, Genova, Italy.
Davide
D
Venzano
Paola
P
Pagani
Nadia
N
Randazzo
Francesco
F
Cabiddu
Carlo Enrico
CE
Traverso
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000388:Air; D002452:Cell Count; D015925:Cryopreservation; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000166:cytology*; D057111:Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000166:cytology*; D005125:Eye Banks; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014021:Tissue Preservation; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*