Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine if there is a correlation between donor endothelial cell density, incidence of graft detachments, and confocal microscopy-measured haze values in patients who have undergone DSEK.
Methods: :
A retrospective chart review with confocal microscopy was conducted for 24 eyes of patients who underwent DSEK. Subepithelial haze and donor-graft haze were measured at a minimum of 6 months after surgery. Donor endothelial cell density (supplied by Mississippi Lions Eye Bank at the time of harvesting) and incidence of graft detachments were compared to haze values and to each other as group sets using Pearson’s coefficient to determine correlation.
Results: :
The mean donor endothelial cell density was 3080 +/ - 495 per mm2. The compared groups and Pearson P-values were as follows: subepithelial haze vs. donor endothelial cell density (P= 0.27), donor-graft interface haze vs. donor endothelial cell density (P=0.33), subepithelial haze vs. incidence of graft detachments (P=0.63), donor-graft interface haze vs. incidence of graft detachments (P=0.64), and donor endothelial cell density vs. incidence of graft detachment (P=.82).
Conclusions: :
Haze measured by confocal microscopy did not correlate with donor endothelial density or incidence of graft detachment. Not surprisingly, donor cell density did not correlate with graft detachments. As such, donor graft endothelial cell density would unlikely be useful in predicting haze or graft dislocation for the cell density range used in this study.
Keywords: cornea: endothelium • microscopy: confocal/tunneling • transplantation