Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) after Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK).
Methods: :
Twenty eyes of 19 patients who underwent DSAEK and 20 age-matched controls were included in the study. Of the 20 eyes that underwent DSAEK, the indications for surgery were Fuchs’ dystrophy in 17 eyes, followed by primary bullous keratopathy in 2, and endothelial decompensation in 1 eye. Nine eyes underwent only DSAEK, 9 eyes underwent DSAEK and phacoemulsification, and 2 eyes underwent DSAEK and intraocular lens exchange. The corneal topography and HOAs up to 8th order from anterior and posterior corneal surfaces were evaluated with the Scheimpflug rotating system (Pentacam, Oculus Gmbh, Wetzlar, Germany) after 3 months postoperatively.
Results: :
The mean anterior corneal Z31, Z33, and Z40 were 1.001 ± 0.523 µm, 0.599 ± 0.486 µm and 1.367 ± 0.500 µm respectively in eyes that underwent DSAEK and 0.715 ± 0.358 µm, 0.280 ± 0.266 µm and 1.542 ± 0.827 µm respectively in the control group. Although anterior corneal Z33 and Z44 were significantly higher in DSAEK group (p<0.05), there was no significant difference between the anterior corneal Z31, Z40 and Z42 between the two groups (p>0.05). The mean posterior corneal Z31, Z33, and Z40 were 4.772 ± 2.838 µm, 5.231 ± 2.808 µm and 1.558 ± 1.187 µm respectively in eyes that underwent DSAEK and 1.495 ± 0.747 µm, 0.674 ± 0.296 µm and 1.688 ± 0.596 µm respectively in the control group. The posterior corneal higher order aberrations in all Zernike terms except spherical aberration (Z40) were significantly higher in eyes that underwent DSAEK than those of age-matched controls (p<0.001).
Conclusions: :
Corneal HOAs, mostly from the posterior corneal surface, are significantly higher in eyes that underwent DSAEK than those of age-matched controls.
Keywords: transplantation • cornea: endothelium • cornea: clinical science