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Updated: May 27, 2026
Corneal Donor Tissue Preparation for Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
Published on: September 17, 2014
[Visual acuity and endothelial cell density following Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK)]
I Dapena1, L Dapena, M Dirisamer
1Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery, Rotterdam, Holanda. isadapena@gmail.com
Purpose:
To assess the clinical outcomes of DMEK in the first series of 120 eyes operated for the treatment of Fuchs endothelial dystrophy in terms of visual acuity and endothelial cell density.
Methods:
The first 120 consecutive eyes that underwent DMEK (i.e. transplantation of an isolated donor Descemet membrane with its endothelium) were evaluated. In all eyes, the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before and at 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery, as well as the endothelial cell density (ECD) before and at 6 months were measured.
Results:
In eyes with a functional DMEK graft and good visual potential (n=96), the BCVA was ≥ 20/40 (≥ 0.5) in 77% after 1 month, 92% after 3 months, and 95% after six months; ≥ 20/25 (≥ 0.8) in 50%, 63%, and 73% of the cases, and ≥ 20/20 (≥ 1.0) in 23%, 34%, and 45% of the cases at 1, 3, and 6 months respectively. In this group, ECD averaged 2610 (± 185) cells/mm(2) before, and 1770 (± 520) cells/mm(2) at six months after surgery (n=96). In 15 eyes, a secondary Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) was performed. In this group, 91% of patients reached a BCVA of ≥ 20/40 (≥ 0.5) and only one patient achieved a BCVA of 0.8 at 6 months after surgery (n=11). Furthermore, ECD averaged 2580 (± 185) cells/mm(2) before and 1310 (± 740) cells/mm(2) at six months (n=13).
Conclusion:
DMEK provides a fast and high visual rehabilitation. Endothelial cell density loss may be similar to earlier types of endothelial keratoplasty.
