Fellow eyes in aphakic and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy.

We studied the contralateral eye of ten consecutive patients in whom corneal decompensation had occurred following cataract extraction to detect the beginnings of any corneal disease in that eye. Patients with a previous history of surgery, trauma, or ocular disease were excluded. In the study group, the mean endothelial cell count was 1,852 cells/mm2 and the central corneal thickness was 0.572 mm. A comparable group of control eyes with cataracts demonstrated a mean endothelial cell count of 2,446 cells/mm2 and central pachymetry of 0.514 mm. Patients with corneal edema following cataract extraction should be carefully evaluated for the presence of endothelial dysfunction in the opposite eye.