Clinical Evaluation of the NS Endo-Inserter, a Novel Donor Inserter for Descemet's Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty

PURPOSE: This study investigated the clinical outcomes achieved with a newly developed donor inserter (NS Endo-Inserter [NSI], HOYA Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) for Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) in Japanese eyes with bullous keratopathy secondary to argon laser iridotomy (BK-ALI). The NSI device utilizes pressure flow to push the DSAEK donor tissue into the anterior chamber. METHODS: Six eyes of 6 patients (1 male, 5 females; mean age, 78.5 years) with BK-ALI were enrolled. Donor tissue was pushed into the anterior chamber using the NSI. Intraoperative complications, graft dislocation, and iatrogenic primary graft failure were recorded for all eyes. Six-month postoperative central donor endothelial cell densities (ECD) were measured prospectively and compared with preoperative values, along with 6-month best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). RESULTS: In all cases, donor loading onto the NSI spatula and donor insertion into the anterior chamber using the NSI was smooth and successful; no intraoperative complications were noted. There were no cases of graft dislocation or IPGF. Postoperative ECD was 2,187.2 cells/mm(2) (mean loss, 14.8%) and mean BCVA increased from 0.27 decimal to 0.8 at 6 months. CONCLUSION: In this small preliminary case series, clinical outcomes for patients with BK-ALI undergoing DSAEK using the NSI were comparable or better than those achieved with conventional DSAEK insertion techniques.