Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine whether debris in the corneal storage media of standard eye bank containers may cause damage to the donor cornea endothelium.
Methods: :
13 donor corneas were examined and endothelial cell counts performed. 8 of these corneas were removed from their containers. 3 pieces of the scleral rim were excised from each cornea and returned to the storage container with the cornea. Each container was inverted, allowing the debris to settle on the endothelial surface of the corneas, and then the containers were placed aside. A sham procedure was performed on the remaining 5 control corneas. After 2 hours, endothelial cell counts were determined.
Results: :
The mean, initial endothelial cell count was 2541 cells/mm (SD=185.8) among all corneas. There was a statistically significant difference between the initial endothelial cell counts and the endothelial cell counts of the corneas which had cellular debris placed in the media (2206.8 cells/mm, P=0.0005). There was no statistically significant difference between the initial endothelial cell counts and the endothelial cell counts of the corneas which underwent the shame procedure (2653.8 cells/mm, P=0.19).
Conclusions: :
This study demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in the endothelial cell count of corneas which were stored with cellular debris that contacted the endothelial surface. Debris should be eliminated from the corneal storage media or debris should be prevented from contacting the donor cornea endothelium.
Keywords: cornea: storage • cornea: endothelium • transplantation