Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate early and/or late postoperative changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) in eyes that underwent DSEK.
Methods: :
Retrospective chart review of 28 patients who underwent DSEK for treatment of corneal edema induced by aphakic bullous edema, pseudophakic bullous edema or Fuch’s dystrophy. A mean baseline IOP was obtained in preoperative visits using Tonopen-XL®. This preoperative IOP was compared to IOP obtained at 1st day, 1 week and 1 month postoperatively. An IOP obtained at the end of follow-up was also compared to the initial preoperative IOP. Statistical analysis was performed using Prism GraphPad software.
Results: :
IOP decreased from a preoperative mean value of 16.2 ± 4.8 mmHg to 15.7 ± 5.6 mmHg at the first postoperative day. This tendency was maintained at 1 week (14.1 ± 3.8 mmHg) and at 1 month (16 ± 4.1 mmHg). Mean IOP slightly increased to 18.5 ± 5.5 mmHg after a follow-up of 35.4 ± 25.7 weeks. Paired t-test showed no statistically significant difference between the mean preoperative baseline IOP and the mean IOP at day 1 (p= 0.642) and 1 month (p = 0.527). A statistically significant difference between the preoperative IOP values and the final IOP was noted (p=0.023).
Conclusions: :
DSEK did not induce significant IOP increases in the early postoperative period. The absence of high IOP peaks during the first postoperative month can be considered one of the most important advantages of this surgical procedure.
Keywords: cornea: clinical science • intraocular pressure • anterior segment