Influence of final corneal thickness in visual acuity after deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty

To determine if the final corneal thickness after deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (DLEK) is correlated in any way with visual performance.

One hundred fifty-five consecutive eyes without macular disease underwent DLEK surgery and had pachymetry recorded at 6 months postoperatively. The eyes were grouped according to visual acuity, and pachymetry was correlated between groups: group 1 (20/20, 20/25, or 20/30), n = 38; group 2 (20/40 or 20/50), n = 79; group 3 (20/60, 20/70, or 20/80), n = 30; group 4 (20/100 or worse), n = 8.

The mean pachymetry, SD, and range of pachymetry for each group are as follows: group 1, 0.571 +/- 0.080 mm (range, 0.408-0.784 mm); group 2, 0.598 +/- 0.080 mm (range, 0.437-0.816 mm); group 3, 0.605 +/- 0.099 mm (range, 0.454-0.945 mm); group 4, 0.607 +/- 0.120 mm (range, 0.410-0.781 mm). There was no significant correlation between vision and corneal thickness (P = 0.312). There was no statistical difference in pachymetry among all 4 groups (P = 0.323). The influence of pachymetry in visual acuity is not relevant (r = 0.03).

The variance in corneal thickness in DLEK does not seem to influence visual results.