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Keratoprosthesis improved vision in study of congenital aniridia patients
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Patients with aniridic keratopathy can significantly benefit from implantation of a Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis as an alternative to other surgical procedures, according to a small study.
Esen Karamursel Akpek, MD, and colleagues studied the device retention rate, pre- and postoperative visual acuity and intra- and postoperative complications in 16 eyes of 15 adults who received a Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis for congenital aniridia. All patients were deemed at high risk for regular donor corneal transplantation, and 11 patients had failed prior corneal transplantations, according to the study.
Surgeons combined keratoprosthesis implantation with other procedures, such as cataract extraction, tube shunt implantation, vitrectomy and IOL removal, in 10 patients.
No intraoperative complications were encountered, and all devices remained in situ throughout follow-up, which ranged from 2 months to 85 months, the authors reported.
Preoperative comorbidities, specifically optic nerve and foveal hypoplasia, limited the final postoperative vision. However, visual acuity improved in all but one patient, from an average of counting fingers preoperatively to 20/200, they noted.
This study is published in the August issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.