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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Ex Vivo Corneal Organ Culture Model for Wound Healing Studies
Published on: February 15, 2019
[Histopathology of retrocorneal membranes after keratoplasty]
S Calabrese1, H Wenkel, C Rummelt
1Innere Medizin, St. Anna Krankenhaus Sulzbach-Rosenberg.
Background:
This retrospective study examines the histopathological changes, especially the occurrence of retrocorneal membranes, in irreversible graft failure after penetrating keratoplasty.
Patients/Materials And Methods:
371 corneas of 308 patients were examined. The examination was carried out using a light microscope.
Results:
45% of the corneas (167/371) showed a retrocorneal membrane with a thickness of 2-520 micrometers. Re-endothelialisation was detected in 75 cases. In 74% (124/167) cellular infiltration into the stroma could be observed. In 32% (119/371) the graft-host border was visible.
Conclusions:
Retrocorneal membranes are a frequent finding in irreversible graft failure after penetrating keratoplasty. Aetiologically the graft-host border as well as the formation of connective tissue seem to play a key role.
