One-year follow-up of femtosecond laser-assisted penetrating keratoplasty

e-year follow-up of femtosecond laser-assisted penetrating keratoplasty Case Series (594) Total Article Views Authors: Tan JCH, Heng WJ Published Date February 2013 Volume 2013:7 Pages 403 - 409 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S42575 Received: 09 January 2013 Accepted: 30 January 2013 Published: 25 February 2013 Johnson Choon-Hwai Tan, Wee-Jin Heng National Healthcare Group Eye Institute, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore Background: The purpose of this report is to describe the initial outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted penetrating keratoplasty. Methods: This retrospective surgical case series consisted of 10 eyes from 10 patients undergoing penetrating keratoplasty at a tertiary center. Femtosecond laser was used to perform a zig-square incision on the donor cornea with matched dimensions on the recipient cornea. Outcomes measured included: unaided visual acuity and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity preoperatively and at one, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively; manifest refractive and topographic astigmatism at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively; and endothelial cell density loss, calculated at the end of the one-year follow-up period. Results: At one-year follow-up, there was an improvement in unaided visual acuity from a mean preoperative logMAR of 1.67 to 0.44, and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity from a mean preoperative logMAR of 1.33 to 0.13. By postoperative month 3, mean manifest refractive and topographic astigmatism was 2.31 ± 1.41 D and 2.59 ± 1.57 D, respectively. The mean reduction in endothelial cell density was 20.7% after one year of follow-up. Conclusion: Femtosecond laser-assisted penetrating keratoplasty provided a good visual outcome and early visual rehabilitation due to precise graft-host alignment and reduced astigmatism in the early postoperative months.