Abstract
Purpose :
Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) is broadly used as an iteration for corneal endothelial transplantation. We aimed to assess the long-term safety and feasibility results of microincision DMEK in our center.
Methods :
A retrospective, cohort study of all microincision DMEK procedures counting 44 operations done within one year from December 2018 by one experienced consultant at the Cornea Section, Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet Denmark was evaluated by manual scrutiny of patient files. The microincision procedure was introduced locally in December 2018. The technique uses a glass injector that fits a 1.1 mm incision (compared to standard incisions of 2.4 mm) as previously reported (Cabrerizo J, et al. IOVS 2018;59,ARVO E-Abstract 1305).
Results :
For all 44 microincision operations the median age of patients at time of study procedure was 73 years (median range 44 to 91 years). The two years follow-up rate was 88 percent. Among the patients the median of best visual acuity two years after study procedure was 1.00 Snellen (median range 0.005-1.20). Likewise, the mean endothelial cell density (ECD) two years after study procedure was 1021 cells/mm2. Overall, the rebubble rate after the study procedures was 25 percent, and the graft survival rate after two years was 91 percent.
Conclusions :
The overall visual acuity two years postoperatively, the rebubble rate, and the graft survival rates dovetail with previous reports of large cohorts of surgeries using the standard DMEK technique. Our results might suggest that microincision DMEK long-term results can be comparable with the standard technique in terms of safety and efficacy.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.