Abstract
Purpose :
To identify corneal factors measured with Scheimpflug photography that are predictive of corneal decompensation requiring keratoplasty following cataract surgery in patients with Fuchs dystrophy (FED).
Methods :
Retrospective review of charts of consecutive patients with FED referred to one surgeon’s clinic for cataract surgery between October 2014 and July 2016. Pentacam HR (OCULUS GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) was used to preoperatively measure central corneal thickness (CCT), peripheral corneal thickness, and corneal densitometry.
Results :
Fourteen eyes of twelve patients with FED underwent uneventful phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. Five eyes had corneal decompensation requiring endothelial keratoplasty 3 months postoperatively. Average preoperative CCT was significantly higher in eyes that needed the transplant (716± 20.4 μm) compared to those who did not (602± 24.9 μm) (p<.001, Pearson correlation 0.13). There was no significant difference in the Central-to-Peripheral Thickness Ratio (CPTR) between the 2 groups (p=.52). Preoperative densitometry in the central 2 mm cornea was significantly higher in patients who received the transplant (32.4 ± 3.6 GSU) compared to those who did not (24.3 ± 2 GSU) (p<.001, Pearson correlation of .50). There was no significant difference in the paracentral, peripheral, and total densitometry between the 2 groups (p=.17, .13, and .09 respectively).
Conclusions :
Preoperative CCT and central corneal densitometry, but not CPTR, may be predictive of corneal decompensation requiring keratoplasty after phacoemulsification in eyes with FED.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.