Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine if endothelial recovery and pachymetry after endothelial keratoplasty such as DLEK is correlated in any way to visual performance.
Methods: :
29 consecutive eyes without macular degeneration underwent DLEK surgery and had pachymetry and vision recorded at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years post–op.
Results: :
The average, standard deviation and range of pachymetry for each time gate are as follows: 1 week: .653±.120 (.468 to.869), 1 month: .601±.096 (.443 to .844), 3 months: .599± (.457 to .809), 6 months:.603±.110 (.408 to .945) 1 year: .600± .088 (.475 to .797), 2 years: .595±.075 (.437 to .740). The BSCVA averaged 20/112 at 1 week, 20/72 at 1 month, 20/55 at 3 months, 20/50 at 6 months, 20/45 at 1 year, 20/43 at 2 years. There was no significant correlation between BSCVA and pachymetry at any time gate. (P>0.05)
Conclusions: :
Endothelial function recovers quickly with pachymetry stabilizing by the 1 month time gate. Visual acuity was not correlated with pachymetry from one week to one month, but continued to improve even after corneal pachymetry stabilized.
Keywords: cornea: endothelium • visual acuity • cornea: clinical science