Abstract
Purpose :
To determine current practice patterns in pediatric keratoplasty.
Methods :
We sent a survey to corneal surgeons and pediatric ophthalmologists around the world, with specific questions regarding pre-operative patient characteristics, intraoperative techniques, and post-operative management. We also performed a literature review of English language papers on pediatric keratoplasty from 1966 to 2016 using pubmed and our institution's print collection print databases.
Results :
Eighty ophthalmologists completed the survey. Survey respondents most commonly performed penetrating keratoplasty, followed by deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty, keratoprosthesis, and DSAEK, and only four of our respondents performed DMEK in children. The most common indications for keratoplasty were anterior segment dysgenesis, followed by acquired corneal scar, congenital glaucoma, congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy, then keratoconus. Specific practice patterns, including surgical techniques and post-operative management protocols, varied.
Conclusions :
Our survey was consistent with the published literature in terms of indication and type of surgery performed. The variability among specific surgical technique and post-operative management protocols maybe due to a lack of preferred practice guidelines specific to pediatric corneal transplantation. This may also contribute to the difference in reported success rates among published studies.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.