TITLE:
Visual Outcome after Lamellar Keratoplasty at Benghazi Eye Teaching Hospital
AUTHORS:
Ebtihag Mohammed Elkeilani, Hamad K. H. A. Elzarrug, Mohamed Omar Yousif
KEYWORDS:
Visual Acuity, Keratometry, Q Value, Keratoconus, Deep Anterior Lamellar
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
17,
2024
ABSTRACT: Purpose: To evaluate the visual, refractive, and topographic improvement after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) in keratoconic patients. Setting: Benghazi Eye Teaching Hospital. Design: A prospective cohort study was done in the period from November 2023 to January 2024 and included 30 keratoconic eyes of 30 patients who underwent DALK. Methods: Thirty keratoconic eyes from 30 patients who underwent DALK. Preoperative data include uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), keratometry, and Q value. Postoperative UCVA and CDVA were evaluated at 7, 30, 60, and 90 days, with CDVA, keratometry, and Q-value using topography images at 90 days postoperatively. Inclusion Criteria: Moderate to severe keratoconus with the steepest K reading > 45 D based on the keratoconus study; age from 17 to 57 years; patients who can keep up follow-up for 3 months after surgery; minimum corneal thickness of 260 μm at the thinnest corneal location. Exclusion Criteria: Pregnancy or nursing, history of hydrops, retinal or macular diseases, optic nerve pathologies, trauma, or amblyopia, and evidence of infectious corneal disease in the eye to be operated on. Results: There were statistically improved postoperative compared to preoperative parameters in UCVA and CDVA at the first week (P Conclusion: DALK is efficient for treating keratoconus. It improves UCVA and CDVA in patients with anterior corneal pathology. Faster wound healing is associated with a better donor-recipient fit.