FREQUENCY OF AN IMMUNOLOGIC GRAFT REACTION AFTER PE-NETRATING HOMOLOGOUS KERATOPLASTY

97th DOG Annual Meeting 1999

P543
FREQUENCY OF AN IMMUNOLOGIC GRAFT REACTION AFTER PE-NETRATING HOMOLOGOUS KERATOPLASTY

J. B. Jonas, R. M. Rank

Purpose of the study was to evaluate frequency of an immunologic graft reaction in patients who had undergone penetrating homologous keratoplasty.

Patients and Methods: The study included 269 patients with keratokonus (n=86; graft diameter: 7.5-7.8 mm (median), herpetic corneal scars (n=32; graft diameter: 7.2mm-7.5mm (median), non-herpetic corneal scars (n=45; graft diameter: 7.2mm-7.5mm (median), Fuchs´ corneal endothelial dystrophy (n=25; graft diameter: 7.2mm-7.5mm (median), and corneal endothelial dysfunction after intraocular surgery (n=81; graft diameter: 7.2mm-7.5mm (median)). Minimal follow-up time was 6 months. To reduce the influence of external factors, the study included only patients who had been operated by the same surgeon. Patients with marginally located grafts and patients with corneal ulcers had been excluded from the study.

Results: An immunologic graft reaction developed in 5 of the 86 (5.8%) patients with keratokonus, in 6 of the 32 (18.8%) patients with herpetic corneal scars, in 6 of the 45 (13.3%) patients with non-herpetic corneal scars, in 2 of the 25 (8%) patients with Fuchs` corneal endothelial dystrophy, and in 6 of the 81 (7.4%) patients with corneal endothelial dysfunction after intraocular surgery. .

Conclusions: Depending on the preoperative situation, the risk of an immunologic graft reaction is relatively low. Confirming previous investigati-ons, the risk of an immunologic graft reaction was lowest for patients with keratokonus and Fuchs´corneal endothelial dystrophy, and it was highest for patients with herpetic corneal scars.

Department of Ophthalmology, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen

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