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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Corneal Donor Tissue Preparation for Endothelial Keratoplasty
Published on: June 12, 2012
Improved preparation and preservation of human keratoplasty lenticules
Gianni Salvalaio1, Adriano Fasolo, Alessandro Bruni
1Fondazione Banca degli Occhi del Veneto, Venezia Mestre, Italy.
Purpose:
To improve the preparation of lenticules from human cornea and to obtain their preservation without loss of viable keratocytes.
Methods:
The epithelium was manually removed after bathing the surface of the cornea with a solution of trypsin and EDTA. Lenticules were prepared by microkeratome resection and viable keratocytes were visualized by staining with thiazolyl blue (MTT).
Results:
The pretreatment with trypsin-EDTA allowed the removal of the epithelium without damage to the keratocytes and the stroma. When these lenticules were incubated in Optisol-GS for 7 days at 4 degrees C, they showed a limited thickness increase and a preservation of keratocyte viability.
Conclusion:
This procedure allows the preparation of lenticules with viable keratocytes that can be preserved in the cold for at least 1 week.
