Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate contrast sensitivity (CS), refraction and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in relation to the central thickness of residual bed in patients who underwent deep lamellar keratoplasty (DLKP) by intrastromal dissection.
Methods: :
15 eyes of 15 patients were examined 12 months after DLKP by intrastromal dissection with a stable stromal interfacies and suture removal. The central thickness was determined using Pachicaliber program (OCX Systems, Rovigo, Italy) on OCT3 (Carl Zeiss Meditec) images (mean value of 5 scans for each eye). Contrast sensitivity was measured by Pelli–Robson test. Refraction and BCVA were determined using Snellen chart.
Results: :
The central corneal thickness of residual bed was 150.67 ± 40.20 µm (range 114–277). BCVA was 0.92 + 0.16 (range 1–0.4) with a refraction in spherical equivalent (SE) of – 2.59 + 4.84 D. Contrast sensitivity was 5.29 ± 0.98 cpd (3–6). The correlation between BCVA and residual bed resulted statistically significant (Pearson correlation method: r= –0.726 ). A low correlation was found between CS and residual bed (r=–0,461). No correlation was found between SE and residual bed.
Conclusions: :
The acuity and quality of vision may be related to residual bed corneal thickness in DLKP. SE seems to be independent.
Keywords: cornea: stroma and keratocytes