title: Sutureless femtosecond anterior lamellar keratoplasty: a 1-year follow-up study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the safety and efficacy of sutureless femtosecond anterior lamellar keratoplasty (FALK) in patients with corneal stromal opacities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven eyes of 11 consecutive patients with corneal stromal opacities involving < 250 μ due to various pathologies were included in the study. Preoperatively, all underwent anterior segment imaging with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) (Bioptigen Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA) to measure the depth of the stromal opacity. All patients underwent FALK, and bandage contact lens was placed for a period of 2 weeks. Postoperatively, uncorrected visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and SD-OCT evaluation were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients showed significant improvement in BCVA. The mean postoperative BCVA (in decimals) improved from 0.11 ± 0.06 preoperatively to 0.59 ± 0.08. There were no intraoperative or significant postoperative complications that were noticed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FALK is a safe and effective alternative to deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty or penetrating keratoplasty in the treatment of anterior stromal opacities.
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Narayana Nethralaya Eye Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Harsha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagaraja
authors.forename: Himabindu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Veluri
authors.forename: Yathish
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shivanna
authors.forename: Thungappa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kugar
authors.forename: Rudy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nujits
authors.forename: Bhujang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shetty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D013997:Time Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D055815:Young Adult