Clear corneal grafts with subcritical endothelial cell count after 1 year of penetrating keratoplasty

Abstract

Endothelial cell loss after penetrating keratoplasty leads to graft failure. The critical limit of the endothelial cell count for corneal decompensation is thought to be 700 cells/mm2. Clinical specular microscopy indicates that inspite of low endothelial cell density, the corneal graft can be maintained in a relatively dehydrated state. This study reports 4 cases of clear corneal graft having low endothelial cell count. The low endothelial cell count was associated with polymegathism and pleomorphism; inspite of this, the clarity of the graft was maintained.

Keywords

• clear corneal grafts
• eyebank keratoanalyzer
• low endothelial cell count
• penetrating keratoplasty
• specular microscopy