Recurrence of anterior corneal dystrophies after keratoplasty

Purpose To describe the rates of simple recurrence (SR) and clinically significant recurrence (CSR) of anterior dystrophies in donor corneas after penetrating or lamellar keratoplasty. Methods Retrospective case series of patients who underwent keratoplasty for anterior dystrophies from 1954 to 2008 with a minimum follow-up time of three years. Kaplan Meier survival curves were calculated for both parameters (SR and CR) to demonstrate recurrence of the different dystrophies thru time. Results A total of 109 eyes of 66 patients were included: 8 cases of Bowman´s dystrophy (6 eyes with CDRB/Reis Bucklers and 2 eyes with CDTB/Thiel Bhenke), 19 cases of CDG/Granular, 53 cases of CDL/Lattice and 29 cases of CDM/Macular. The median follow-up time for each kind of dystrophy varied from 75 months (6.25 years) to 180 months (15 years). The survival function for simple recurrence was significantly higher (376.2 months/31 years) for cases of CDM, as compared to those dystrophies related to the keratoepithelin gene : CDRB =177.6 months, CDL=168 months and CDG =89.2 months. Clinically significant recurrence (CR) was noted predominantly in cases of CDL and CDG Conclusion Keratoplasty (whether penetrating or lamellar) is an effective treatment for cases of anterior dystrophies, when visual axis is affected or when other less invasive treatment modalities fail. The statistically significant difference in survival time of recurrence after keratoplasty for the different kinds of anterior dystrophies coincides with literature and may help us in prognosticating the best treatment option for each individual case. Theme: DALK and PK Does one or more of the authors have any financial interest in the subject matter of this presentation?: No