The Influence of Speed During Stripping in Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty Tissue Preparation

Davide Borroni, Kunal Gadhvi, Gabriela Wojcik, Flavia Pennisi, Neeru A. Vallabh, Alessandra Galeone, Alessandro Ruzza, Esmaeil Arbabi, Nardine Menassa, Stephen Kaye, Diego Ponzin, Stefano Ferrari, Vito Romano

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    PURPOSE: To evaluate whether the speed of stripping a Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty graft influences the graft scroll width. METHODS: Human corneas suitable for research were selected for the study. Pairs of corneas were randomly divided into 2 groups: 1 cornea was stripped with a slow speed (group 1) and the contralateral with a fast speed (group 2). Slow speed was defined as the total time greater than 150 seconds or speed <0.057 mm/s. Fast peeling was defined as less than 75 seconds or speed >0.11 mm/s. The grafts acquired were evaluated by microscopy for the graft scroll width and endothelial cell density change pre- and post-preparation. RESULTS: Twenty corneas of 10 donors were included in the analysis. The mean donor age was 68.6 ± 7.58 years. The mean total time of the tissue preparation in group 1 was 282.7 ± 28 seconds and in group 2 was 126 ± 50 seconds (P-value = 0.00000047). The mean speed of stripping in group 1 was 0.045 ± 0.006 mm/s and in group 2 was 0.266 ± 0.093 mm/s (P-value = 0.000027). The graft width in group 1 was 6.4 ± 0.92 mm and in group 2 was 2.87 ± 0.32 mm (P-value = 0.00000014). The mean endothelial cell loss in group 1 was 389 ± 149 cells/mm and in group 2 was 186 ± 63.44 cells/mm (P-value = 0.00134). CONCLUSION: We found a correlation between the speed of stripping, scroll width, and endothelial cell loss. Slow-peeled Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty grafts result in a wider scroll width but were associated with a greater reduction in endothelial cell density.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1086-1090
    Number of pages5
    JournalCornea
    Volume39
    Issue number9
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2020

    Field of Science*

    • 3.2 Clinical medicine

    Publication Type*

    • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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