title: Effect of Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty on Color Vision in Patients With Fuchs Dystrophy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess changes in color discernment after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) in patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective, single-center study, the study group was composed of 26 patients with FECD, aged 46 to 85 years, who underwent DMEK as a single surgical procedure; 24 (92%) had pseudophakic and 2 (8%) had phakic eyes. The patients completed a computerized Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue color vision test before and 1 month after DMEK. A control group of 14 subjects, aged 57 to 85 years, was tested 1 month after cataract surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median number of errors made by patients who had undergone DMEK on the color vision test improved from 64 (range 24-124) before surgery to 48 (range 10-120) after surgery (P = 0.0053). The post-DMEK scores in the 24 patients with pseudophakic eyes (median = 48, range = 10-120) were comparable to those of an age-matched control group of patients with cataract without corneal abnormalities (median = 53, range = 4-104, P = 0.88). The improvement in color vision was not correlated with the amount of improvement in best corrected visual acuity (r = -0.02, P = 0.91) or with the reduction in central pachymetry (r = -0.08, P = 0.71) after DMEK.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent with spontaneous comments from some patients with FECD that colors appear more vivid after DMEK, a comparison of pre- and postoperative color vision scores showed that color discernment usually improved after DMEK (81%). The lack of correlation between color vision improvement and pachymetry reduction leads us to hypothesize that color vision improvement may relate to removal of the guttae associated with FECD.
authors.affiliation: *Cornea Research Foundation of America, Indianapolis, Indiana; and †Price Vision Group, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Marianne O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Francis W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003119:Color Perception Tests; D055253:Color Vision / Q000502:physiology*; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063171:Corneal Pachymetry; D057111:Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology