Short-Term Visual Outcomes of Boston Keratoprosthesis Type I in Saudi Arabia

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual outcomes, complications and retention of threadless type I Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of four eyes of four patients (one female and three males; age range: 48 to 72 years) who underwent Boston type I threadless KPro implantation between January and December 2009. RESULTS: In the median follow-up of 11 months (range 6 to 14 months), visual outcomes were satisfactory. Preoperative diagnosis included two patients of post-trachoma dense vascularized corneal scarring, one patient of corneal alkali burn and one patient of repeated failed corneal grafts. All patients demonstrated significant improvement in vision; with pre-operative visual acuity of hand movements (HM), counting fingers and HM improved to best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/200, 20/60, 20/50 and 20/30 on their last follow-up visits respectively. None of the patients developed glaucoma as a result of the procedure. No retro-prosthetic membrane developed till the last follow-up visit. One of the four patients had a corneal melt (due to severe dryness associated with trachoma) 6 months after the KPro implantation and underwent a successful KPro revision. Despite the relatively poor prognosis expected in alkali burn eye, the patient attained the maximum BCVA (20/30) of the four eye series on the last follow-up visit at six months. CONCLUSION: In consistent with the earlier reports from other parts of the world, all the 4 eyes had a significant increase in vision after Boston type I KPro implantation. However, patients require close lifelong follow-up to manage any complications.