[Grafting of the cornea and implants sutured to the sclera or anterior chamber. Comparative study on graft survival and endothelial cell loss].

PURPOSE: We studied the percentage of graft survival and endothelial cell loss after penetrating keratoplasty with scleral sutured posterior chamber lens compared with secondary anterior chamber lens.

METHODS

The study concerned 46 patients divided into two groups: group I: 26 cases with scleral sutured posterior chamber lens; group II: 20 cases with anterior chamber lens. The postoperative Kaplan-Meir curve survival was established and cell loss assessed between graft cell density and postoperative cell density according to Sperling's method.

RESULTS

After one year, cell loss was less important in group I (69.23%) than in group II (95%). However, after the first postoperative year, this difference decreases and becomes very slight at the fourth postoperative year. The percentage of cell loss during the first year is 44.6% in group I and is 41.8% in group II. After the first year, the percentage of annual cell loss is 3% in group I and ranges between 6 and 8% in group II.

CONCLUSIONS

Except for age, there was no significant difference between the two groups preoperatively. This, it seems that the high postoperative intra-ocular pressure, more frequent in group I, was a poor prognosis factor for graft survival. After one year, results were similar in the two groups for graft survival, but in group I, the annual percentage cell loss was lower.