Microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty

Microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty has emerged as a surgical option for conditions affecting the clarity of the outer 200 mum of the cornea. Herein we describe the outcome of a simple procedure in which the excimer laser can be used to augment deep tissue removal after both recipient bed and donor graft are prepared with the microkeratome. Our noncomparative interventional case series involved 5 eyes of 4 patients with lattice corneal dystrophy who underwent microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Outcome measures include preoperative and postoperative best spectacle-corrected Snellen visual acuity. Visante ocular coherence tomography data are reported for several of the patients.