Abstract
Purpose:
To compare higher-order aberrations (HOA) following DMEK and “thin” DSAEK. These HOA will also be compared to those of normal corneas.
Methods:
34 eyes underwent DMEK and 30 eyes underwent DSAEK for Fuchs dystrophy. 30 eyes undergoing cataract surgery were used for controls. DSAEK graft thickness was measured 6 months or later postoperatively with anterior segment OCT (Visante OCT, Anterior Segment Imaging). Grafts measured post operatively were identified to be 100 microns or thinner. The root mean squared (RMS) obtained with the Pentacam (Oculus, Arlington, USA) 6 months postoperatively were compared between groups. That is, the mean RMS of the total cornea, the front of the cornea, the back of the cornea, and back corneal spherical aberration RMS were compared.
Results:
The mean total RMS and front corneal RMS was not different between groups. The back corneal RMS was .25 for DMEK, .43 for thin DSAEK, and .25 for controls. The difference between DMEK and the thin DSAEK group was statistically significant (p = .0001), as was the difference between the thin DSAEK group and the controls (p = .0005). The difference between DMEK and controls was not statistically significant (p = .96). The mean RMS for back corneal spherical aberration was -0.17 for DMEK, -0.23 for thin DSAEK, and -0.17 for controls. The difference between DMEK and controls was not significant (p=.99), however, it was of borderline significance when comparing the other groups (DMEK vs. thin DSAEK, p = .07; thin DSAEK vs. controls, p = .12).
Conclusions:
Higher-order aberrations of the back cornea in DMEK eyes were equivalent to those in control eyes. There were less aberrations in DMEK eyes compared to “thin” DSAEK.
Keywords: 481 cornea: endothelium •
741 transplantation •
479 cornea: clinical science