Posters

Outcomes of Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty versus Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty: comparison of eyes matched to baseline visual acuity

Poster Details

First Author: K.Droutsas GREECE

Co Author(s):    A. Lazaridis   S. Schulze   W. Sekundo              

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To compare the visual outcomes after Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) and Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy.

Setting:

University Eye Clinic Marburg, Marburg, Germany; First Ophthalmology Department, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Methods:

In the present retrospective study, eyes with the same baseline visual acuity were analyzed with regard to visual rehabilitation, refraction, corneal thickness and endothelial cell density after DSAEK and DMEK respectively.

Results:

The study included 50 eyes (25 eyes in each group). At 6 months, mean best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) improved from 0.2 ± 0.4 to 0.5 ± 0.8 (DSAEK group) and from 0.2 ± 0.4 to 0.8 ± 0.7 (DMEK group). The spherical equivalent changed from -1.22 ± 3.35D to 0.25 ± 1.20D (DSAEK group) and from -0.10 ± 1.62D to 0.31 ± 1.34D (DMEK group). Central corneal thickness decreased from 663 ± 86µm to 633 ± 21µm (DSAEK group) and from 727 ± 113µm to 527 ± 40µm (DMEK group). Endothelial cell density decreased from 2366 ± 153 to 1399 ± 383 (DSAEK group) and from 2479 ± 267 to 1388 ± 543 (DMEK group).

Conclusions:

In the present retrospective case control study the DMEK group showed a faster rehabilitation and better visual acuity values at all postoperative time points and a slightly higher endothelial cell loss compared to DSAEK. To our knowledge, this is the first clinical comparison between DSAEK and DMEK including eyes with exactly the same preoperative visual acuity. Our findings confirm a faster and better visual rehabilitation after DMEK.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE