title: Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty in Fuchs' corneal endothelial dystrophy: anterior segment optical coherence tomography and in vivo confocal microscopy analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the in vivo corneal changes using in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in patients with Fuchs' dystrophy who underwent Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and the relationship between these changes and the postoperative visual recovery up to 1-year follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Before DSAEK and 1 day, 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery 31 patients (39 pseudophakic eyes) underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), IVCM (subepithelial haze, interface haze, graft thickness) and AS-OCT (graft thickness).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Graft thickness measurements by AS-OCT were strongly correlated to those obtained using IVCM at every follow-up stage (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.95 to 0.97 between 3 and 12 months, P < 0.001 for all coefficients). No correlation between BCVA and graft thickness measured by AS-OCT at any follow-up stage was found, while at 3 and 6 postoperative months the correlations between BCVA and preoperative subepithelial haze (r = 0.61, P < 0.001 and r = 0.46, P = 0.002), interface haze (r = 0.51, P < 0.001 and r = 0.46, P = 0.003), postoperative subepithelial haze (r = 0.43, P = 0.004 and r = 0.39, P = 0.001) were significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study confirmed corneal subepithelial haze and interface haze as important factors limiting visual acuity after DSAEK, while graft thickness was not related to BCVA.
authors.affiliation: Eye Clinic, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. rita.mencucci@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mencucci
authors.affiliation: Eye Clinic, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. elefavuzza@virgilio.it.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Favuzza
authors.affiliation: Eye Clinic, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. ruggerotartaro@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Ruggero
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tartaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, 'Villa Igea' Hospital, Forlì, Italy. mbusin@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busin
authors.affiliation: Eye Clinic, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. gianni.virgili@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Virgili
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000869:Anterior Eye Segment / Q000473:pathology; D057111:Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019591:Pseudophakia / Q000209:etiology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology