title: Presoaking with BSS used for thin manually dissected DSEK (TMDSEK): a viable option for thin DSEK.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe a novel technique for the safe manual dissection of thin donor lenticules in 10 consecutive patients undergoing DSEK surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A key element of our new technique was to presoak the donor cornea in balanced salt solution (BSS) for 30 min before manual dissection. The cornea was placed on an artificial anterior chamber and pressure in the chamber was maintained at 80 mm Hg. The limbus of the donor cornea was incised to the same depth as the central corneal thickness. Lamellar dissection was started with the short side of the Morlet dissector (Duckworth & Kent Ltd) and completed using the lamellar (less sharp) end of the Morlet dissector. Outcomes of 10 consecutive cases of thin manually dissected DSEK (TMDSEK) were prospectively analysed for thickness and visual outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean graft thicknesses measured less than 100 μm at 1 month post surgery (mean thickness 90.7 μm, range 48-137 μm, SD 29.96 μm). Presoaked donor corneal pachymetry was strongly negatively correlated with graft thickness (correlation r=-0.75, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our dissection technique achieves consistently thin endothelial donor corneal grafts that can be safely produced with minimal financial investment and no limitations on surgical time. This technique is likely to be of significant importance for a large proportion of the eye centres where microkeratomes may not be routinely available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Cornea and External Disease Service, Southampton Eye Unit, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsatsos
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Ophthalmology, Cornea and External Disease Service, Southampton Eye Unit, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Southampton, UK [2] Division of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Konstantopoulos
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Ophthalmology, Cornea and External Disease Service, Southampton Eye Unit, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Southampton, UK [2] Division of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Cornea and External Disease Service, Southampton Eye Unit, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002452:Cell Count; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects*; D063171:Corneal Pachymetry; D057111:Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008903:Minerals / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; C030660:BSS solution; D004338:Drug Combinations; D008903:Minerals; D012965:Sodium Chloride