CORNEAL DENSITOMETRY AFTER UNEVENTFUL DESCEMET MEMBRANE ENDOTHELIAL KERATOPLASTY—5-YEAR OUTCOMES
Published 2025 - 29th ESCRS Winter Meeting
Reference: PO112 | Type: Free Paper | DOI: 10.82333/83kn-6b17
Authors: Konstantinos Droutsas* 1 , Maria Evanthia Sotirianakou 2 , Nikolaos Kappos 2 , Frank Michael Schroeder 3 , Walter Sekundo 3 , Stylianos Kandarakis 2 , Konstantina Koulotsiou 2 , Apostolos Lazaridis 3
1First Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Athens ''G.Gennimatas'',National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,Athens,Greece;Department of Ophthalmology,Philipps University of Marburg,Marburg,Germany, 2First Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Athens ''G.Gennimatas'',National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,Athens,Greece, 3Department of Ophthalmology,Philipps University of Marburg,Marburg,Germany
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the course of corneal densitometry (CD), endothelial cell density (ECD), best- corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and central corneal thickness (CCT) 5 years after uneventful Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).
Setting
Medical records of 298 consecutive patients undergoing uneventful DMEK for bullous keratopathy or Fuchs endothelial dystrophy performed at the Philipps University of Marburg Germany, were retrospectively reviewed. In addition, BCVA was evaluated only in eyes without vision-limiting ocular comorbidities.
Methods
Sixty uneventful cases (51 patients) with a minimum follow-up of 5 years were included. CD of various corneal layers (anterior, central, posterior, and total layer) and zones (0–2 mm, 2–6 mm, and 6–10 mm) were measured with Scheimpflug tomography. ECD, BCVA, and CCT were also evaluated.
Results
Total CD at 0 to 2 mm and 2 to 6 mm zones significantly decreased from 33 ± 10 and 27.8 ± 8 grayscale units (GSU) preoperatively to 21.8 ± 3.1 and 22.2 ± 4.2 GSU at 5 years, respectively (P < 0.001). On the contrary, total CD at the 6 to 10 mm zone significantly increased from 30 8 ±.3 GSU pre- operatively to 34.6 ± 7.8 GSU at 5 years (P < 0.001). ECD significantly decreased from 2496 ± 267 cells/mm2 preoperatively to 1063 ± 470 cells/mm2 at 5 years (P ,<0.001). Similarly, CCT significantly decreased from 686 ± 109 mm preoperatively to 557 ± 37 mm at 5 years (P < 0.001). Postoperative BCVA was significantly better after DMEK for every examination time point.
Conclusion
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study presenting the course of CD up to 5 years after uneventful DMEK and its correlation with BCVA, ECD, and CCT.Despite a slight CD increase at all layers of all corneal zones from the second to the fifth postoperative year, the excellent visual outcome was maintained throughout 5-year follow- up. Thus, DMEK seems to effectively treat corneal endothelial disease in the long term.