Histopathological diagnosis of corneal button specimens: an epidemiological study.

PURPOSE: To determine the most common histopathological diagnosis of corneal specimens from penetrating keratoplasty (PKP).

METHODS

The records of 500 corneal specimens submitted to biopsy at the Henry Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, Montreal, Canada, from 1999 to 2004 were reviewed. Age, sex, clinical indications, and histopathological findings were analyzed.

RESULTS

Chronic keratitis (45.6%) was the most common pathological diagnosis, followed by corneal edema (25.8%), dystrophy (12.8%), keratoconus (KC) (9.2%), acute keratitis (5.6%), and degeneration (1.0%). Among the specimens with chronic keratitis, regraft was the most common clinical indication (39.0%). In the group of acute keratitis, ulcerative condition was the leading cause (75,0%). Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy represented 79.7% of the clinical diagnoses in the group of corneal dystrophies. The median patient age was 70-79 years, and the gender distribution was nearly symmetric.

CONCLUSION

The present study is important for determining the most common histopathological diagnoses of corneal button specimens and the correlation with the age, gender, and clinical indications of PKP.