Comparison of primary graft survival following penetrating keratoplasty and Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty in eyes with prior trabeculectomy.
OBJECTIVE
To compare corneal graft survival rate after primary Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) and primary penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in patients with prior trabeculectomy or medically managed glaucoma.


METHODS
A retrospective chart review was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent DSEK or PK. Inclusion criteria consisted of eyes with a diagnosis of glaucoma prior to corneal transplantation and ≥ 6 months of follow-up. Graft failure was defined as an oedematous cornea with failure to maintain deturgescence lasting beyond a period of 1 month of intense steroid therapy or vascularisation and scarring resulting in irreversible loss of central graft clarity. Corneal graft survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Patients were divided into four groups: trabeculectomy-DSEK, trabeculectomy-PK, medical-DSEK or medical-PK.


RESULTS
Fifty eyes (30 DSEK, 20 PK) of 50 patients (mean age 77 ± 10 years) met the enrollment criteria. Mean follow-up was 17.4 ± 14.2 months. A significantly higher proportion of the DSEK grafts (50%) compared with PK grafts (10%) failed at last follow-up (p = 0.005). Kaplan-Meier analysis identified a significant difference between the groups with respect to time to graft failure (p = 0.006). Patients with trabeculectomy who underwent DSEK had earlier graft failures than all other groups (p ≤ 0.035), but there were no differences between the medical-DSEK, medical-PK and trabeculectomy-PK groups (all p > 0.35).


CONCLUSIONS
Eyes with prior glaucoma showed higher rates of DSEK graft failure compared with PK. Patients with prior trabeculectomy demonstrated higher and earlier corneal graft failure rates with DSEK than with PK.
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
Shawn M
SM
Iverson
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
Oriel
O
Spierer
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
George C
GC
Papachristou
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
William J
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9442-3076
WJ
Feuer
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
Wei
W
Shi
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
David S
DS
Greenfield
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.
Terrence P
TP
O'Brien
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057111:Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000601:surgery*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014130:Trabeculectomy; D014792:Visual Acuity
Cornea; Dystrophy; Glaucoma; Intraocular pressure; Treatment Surgery