[Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty in herpes infected eye]

To report the clinical results, the postoperative course and the complications observed after therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty in herpetic keratitis.

Eleven eyes with herpetic keratitis (11 patients) that underwent therapeutic keratoplasty between September 2002 and September 2008 were included in this study. The eyes were evaluated retrospectively with respect to the anatomic success rate, the graft clarity, the visual prognosis and the postoperative complications.

The mean follow-up was 13.7 months. Nine cases presented with corneal perforation and two cases with descemetocele. Anatomic repair was obtained in 11 eyes (100%). The graft transparency rate was 54.5%. A final visual acuity equal to or better than 1/10 was achieved in 45.45%. Major causes of failure of corneal graft included recurrent disease (n = 1), glaucoma (n = 1), graft rejection (n = 2) and early irreversible edema of the graft (n = 1).

The prognosis of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty in herpetic eye disease can only be improved with proper postoperative care and optimal management of immunologic and virologic complications.