Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty for infectious and non-infectious corneal ulcers

This study reports the outcomes of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasties, defined as keratoplasties performed to eradicate active infectious corneal diseases or to repair a structural defect of the cornea. The records of 24 eyes of 24 patients (17 female and 7 male) treated with therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty between 2002 and 2010 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were divided into infectious keratitis group and non-infectious keratitis group. The mean age was 52.12 ± 17.91 years. The median follow-up time was 22 months (min-max: 6-96). Therapeutic success was achieved and eyes were preserved in 23 patients and one patient required evisceration for recurrent fungal infection. At the end of the follow-up period, 92.9 % (n = 13) and 77.8 % (n = 7) of grafts remained clear in the infectious and non-infectious groups, respectively (p = 0.538). Visual acuity (VA) improved at least one Snellen line in 23 patients. The mean postoperative decimal VA was 0.2 ± 0.3 and 0.1 ± 0.3 in the infectious and non-infectious groups, respectively (p = 0.12). Amniotic membrane transplantation was performed in two eyes preoperatively and in four eyes postoperatively. Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty continues to be an effective method in the treatment process of serious perforated and non-perforated corneal infectious and non-infectious diseases resistant to medical and other surgical interventions.