Outcome of "mushroom" pattern femtosecond laser-assisted keratoplasty versus conventional penetrating keratoplasty in patients with keratoconus

Eliya Levinger, Omer Trivizki*, Shmuel Levinger, Israel Kremer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of "mushroom" femtosecond laser-enabled keratoplasty (M-FLEK) with those of conventional penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in eyes with keratoconus. The femtosecond laser-enabled "mushroom" pattern keratoplasty technique results in less postoperative astigmatism and higher endothelial cell counts compared with conventional PKP in patients with keratoconus. METHODS: This was a nonrandomized retrospective, single private center clinical study. Between March 2010 and April 2012, 26 eyes underwent M-FLEK and 33 eyes underwent conventional PKP. Data on preoperative and postoperative manifest refraction, uncorrected visual acuity and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), endothelial cell counts, vector analysis, and complications were retrieved and analyzed. RESULTS: At 12 months of follow-up, the mean logMAR BCVA was 0.31 ± 0.55 in the M-FLEK group and 0.32 ± 0.21 in the PKP group (P = 0.91). The mean spherical equivalent was similar between the groups. The mean manifest cylinder was significantly lower in the M-FLEK group (-2.84 ± 1.08 diopters) than in the PKP group (-3.93 ± 2.26 diopters; P = 0.03). There was a smaller mean endothelial cell loss in the M-FLEK group compared with the PKP group (32.1% vs 38.7%, respectively, P = 0.17) 1 year postoperatively. The complication rates were similar for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: M-FLEK appears to be a safe procedure that results in less astigmatism and a trend toward higher endothelial cell counts compared with conventional PKP, with similar postoperative BCVA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)481-485
Number of pages5
JournalCornea
Volume33
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014

Keywords

  • Astigmatism
  • Femtosecond
  • Keratoconus
  • PKP

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Outcome of "mushroom" pattern femtosecond laser-assisted keratoplasty versus conventional penetrating keratoplasty in patients with keratoconus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this