Purpose: To evaluate the visual, refractive, and topographic improvement after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) in keratoconic patients. Setting: Benghazi Eye Teaching Hospital. Design: A prospective cohort study was done in the period from November 2023 to January 2024 and included 30 keratoconic eyes of 30 patients who underwent DALK. Methods: Thirty keratoconic eyes from 30 patients who underwent DALK. Preoperative data include uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), keratometry, and Q value. Postoperative UCVA and CDVA were evaluated at 7, 30, 60, and 90 days, with CDVA, keratometry, and Q-value using topography images at 90 days postoperatively. Inclusion Criteria: Moderate to severe keratoconus with the steepest K reading ＞ 45 D based on the keratoconus study; age from 17 to 57 years; patients who can keep up follow-up for 3 months after surgery; minimum corneal thickness of 260 μm at the thinnest corneal location. Exclusion Criteria: Pregnancy or nursing, history of hydrops, retinal or macular diseases, optic nerve pathologies, trauma, or amblyopia, and evidence of infectious corneal disease in the eye to be operated on. Results: There were statistically improved postoperative compared to preoperative parameters in UCVA and CDVA at the first week (P ＜ 0.05). Similarly, at 30, and 60 days. As well as at 90 days, parameters improved in the UCVA, CDVA, refractive, and topographic data. Conclusion: DALK is efficient for treating keratoconus. It improves UCVA and CDVA in patients with anterior corneal pathology. Faster wound healing is associated with a better donor-recipient fit.
Cite this paper
Elkeilani, E. M. , Elzarrug, H. K. H. A. and Yousif, M. O. (2024). Visual Outcome after Lamellar Keratoplasty at Benghazi Eye Teaching Hospital. Open Access Library Journal, 11, e2283. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1112283.
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