title: Clinical backgrounds of postoperative keratoplasty patients with spontaneous wound dehiscence or gaps after suture removal.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report that spontaneous postkeratoplasty wound dehiscence or gaps caused by suture removal may occur years after penetrating and deep lamellar keratoplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 667 keratoplasty patients (890 eyes). This study included 8 eyes of 8 patients (3 men and 5 women) aged 64 to 86 years who suffered from spontaneous wound dehiscence or gaps caused by suture removal. We examined their clinical backgrounds such as surgical procedure, reason for suture removal, and time interval between keratoplasty and suture removal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The surgical procedures included 6 penetrating keratoplasties and 2 deep anterior lamellar keratoplasties. The most common reason for suture removal was high corneal astigmatism. Time interval between keratoplasty and suture removal was 15.9 ± 7.7 months (7-26 months). Three patients underwent suture removal from 6 months to 1 year after keratoplasty, 3 patients from 1 to 2 years, and 2 patients after more than 2 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whenever postoperative keratoplasty suture is removed, it is important to consider that wound dehiscence or gaps may occur without incidence of trauma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fujitake
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawakita
authors.forename: Shigeto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimmura
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsubota
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000209:etiology*; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing