Eye bank prepared versus surgeon cut endothelial graft tissue for Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty: An observational study

The purpose of this article is to examine outcomes of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) performed with cornea bank (CB) prestripped tissue and surgeon stripped tissue (SST). This retrospective study examined subjects who underwent DMEK with CB or surgeon prepared tissue for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), corneal thickness, endothelial cell count (ECC), and complications were examined before and throughout a 6-month postoperative period. Eleven CB and 22 SST subjects were included. Six months after surgery, BCVA was 20/20 or better in 36.4% of CB and 22.7% of SST subjects (P = .43). Median logMAR BCVA was 0.10 (0.00–0.20, 20/25) in group CB and 0.10 (0.10–0.30, 20/25) in group SST. Median preoperative corneal thickness was 614.0 μm (577.5–662.0 μm) and 658.0 μm (606.0–689.0 μm) in CB and SST subjects, respectively (P = .37). Six months after surgery, median corneal thickness was lower in the CB group (571.0 μm [478.0–592.0 μm]), than in the SST group (576.0 μm [531.0–607.0 μm], P = .02). At 6 months, median ECC was 1500.0 cell/mm(2) (1321.5–2049.0 cell/mm(2), 41% decrease) in group CB and 1403.0 cell/mm(2) (972.5–2010.7 cell/mm(2), 46% decrease) in group SST (P = .70). Rebubbling was required in 5 CB (45.5%) and 15 SST (68.2%) subjects (P = .39). Fuchs’ dystrophy patients have good anatomic and functional DMEK results. Similar outcomes and complication rates occurred with eye bank and surgeon prepared donor tissue.