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Laser confocal microscopy pinpoints corneal changes after transplantation surgery
Ophthalmology. 2009;116(7):1306-1313.
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In vivo laser confocal microscopy effectively identified haze and corneal deposits in eyes that underwent non-Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty, according to a study.
"Further studies with this technology in a large number of patients and long-term follow-up are needed to understand fully the long-term corneal stromal changes after nDSAEK," the study authors said.
The prospective clinical study included 10 eyes of 10 patients (mean age of 73.5 years) diagnosed with bullous keratopathy. Investigators performed in vivo laser confocal microscopy before surgery and 1, 3 and 6 months postop. They evaluated select images of corneal layers for haze severity and corneal deposit density.
Before surgery, investigators identified corneal epithelial edema, subepithelial haze, keratocytes in a honeycomb pattern and needle-shaped materials in the stroma in all patients. After surgery, they observed subepithelial haze, donor-recipient interface haze and interface particles. Hyper-reflective giant interface particles were also identified in all patients, the authors said.
Postoperative haze, interface particles and needle-shaped materials showed a statistically significant decrease throughout the follow-up interval (P < .05).