Descemet's Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty Using Donor Tissue from an 83-Day-Old Infant

Nikolaos Ziakas; Angeliki Chranioti; Argyrios Tzamalis; Dimitrios Giannoulis; Dimitrios Kapantais; Michael Tsatsos; Konstantinos T Tsaousis

doi:10.4103/joco.joco_242_21

Descemet's Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty Using Donor Tissue from an 83-Day-Old Infant

J Curr Ophthalmol. 2022 Jul 26;34(2):257-259. doi: 10.4103/joco.joco_242_21. eCollection 2022 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Nikolaos Ziakas^{1

2}, Angeliki Chranioti², Argyrios Tzamalis¹, Dimitrios Giannoulis², Dimitrios Kapantais², Michael Tsatsos², Konstantinos T Tsaousis¹

Affiliations

¹ 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Papageorgiou Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
² 1 Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case of Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) combined with phacoemulsification in an adult recipient using endothelial graft from an 83-day-old infant donor.

Methods: A corneoscleral button was obtained from an infant donor and a DSAEK graft was prepared using a microkeratome. In comparison to the standard technique of DSAEK graft preparation some modifications were made in order to avoid inadvertent perforation, as the donor cornea had a very spherical shape, probably due to the very young age of the donor. The DSAEK graft was transplanted to the left eye of a 68-year-old woman suffering from Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy. Her preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in that eye was 20/100 and central corneal thickness 831 μm.

Results: An uneventful DSAEK combined with phacoemulsification was performed. The main complication noted was detachment of the peripheral part and contraction of the corneal graft, observed two months after the procedure. The implanted tissue remained centrally attached with a BCVA of 20/40, 3 years postoperatively.

Conclusion: This case report highlights the difficulties emerging from preparation and implantation using an endothelial graft tissue from the youngest ever reported donor.

Keywords: Corneal graft; Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty; Endothelial keratoplasty; Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy; Infant donor.

Publication types

Case Reports