Penetrating Keratoplasty in Children

Abstract

Keratoplasty is one of the most common tissue transplants. However, its application in children remains a high-risk procedure. The child eyeball is smaller, the cornea and sclera are more elastic, a higher pressure on the vitreous body and often other malformations of the anterior eye segment are present, all of which makes it a significantly more difficult intervention than that in adults. The aim of the report is to present a case of keratoplasty in a child with corneal perforation due to trauma. A 7-year-old child, who fell off a bicycle 4 days ago and hit their eye area, was admitted to the eye diseases clinic. In the clinic, an examination was performed under general anesthesia; a foreign body was removed from the left eye and a perforation of the cornea was established. A penetrating keratoplasty was performed. Two months after the surgery, loosening of the sutures began, and scarring and their gradual removal became necessary. 18 months after the operation, the eye is completely calm and the transplant is transparent. Penetrating keratoplasty in children remains a major challenge for most surgeons. A good collaboration with the parents is necessary to preserve the transparency of the transplant and improve visual acuity.

Keywords

• pediatric keratoplasty
• penetrating keratoplasty
• trauma
• corneal perforation