Author(s)

John Cason, Habeeb Ahmad, Pho Nguyen, Martin Heur, Jonathan Song, Samuel C. Yiu

Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine of the Uni-versity of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Department of Ophthalmology, The Wilmer Eye Institute, The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Doheny Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Purpose: To report a novel Y-suture transfixation technique to improve success rate of high-risk Descemets stripping automated endothelial keratoplasties (DSAEK). Design: Retrospective non-comparative case series. Participants: Twenty five high-risk patients undergoing DSAEK at one tertiary care institution. Methods: A retrospective evaluation of consecutively enrolled high-risk DSAEK cases performed by three surgeons at one institution during a 3-year period (2007-2010). Main outcome measures were graft adherence and suture-related complications. Results: Highrisk factors were defined as followed: prior incisional glaucoma surgery (58%), presence of vitreous in the anterior chamber (15%), anterior chamber intraocular lens (8%), graft dislocation (8%), previous DSAEK (8%), and iris trauma/aphakia (3%). Twenty-five high-risk patients underwent DSAEK with Y-suture transfixation. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 3 to 27 months. One patient had dislocation due to hypotony from prior trabeculectomy (4%), requiring repeat DSAEK. Neither primary graft failure nor suture-related complication was observed. Conclusion: The Y-suture transfixation technique is associated with improved success rate of high-risk DSAEK transplant.

Descemets Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty, Dislocated Graft Prevention, Sutured Lenticule

Cason, J. , Ahmad, H. , Nguyen, P. , Heur, M. , Song, J. and Yiu, S. (2014) A Novel Y-Suture Transfixation Technique to Improve Graft Adherence in High-Risk Descemets Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty. Open Journal of Ophthalmology, 4, 100-105. doi: 10.4236/ojoph.2014.43016.