Femtosecond laser-assisted decagonal deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty

To assess the use of a new polygonal trephination pattern for deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) assisted by femtosecond laser.

Prospective, nonrandomized clinical study.

Twenty-four eyes underwent decagonal DALK. All except 1 had advanced keratoconus. A laser was used to create decagonal cuts on both donor and recipient corneas. All patients were assessed for uncorrected visual acuity, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and keratometry by Pentacam pre- and postoperatively.

All eyes were treated successfully without intraoperative complications. All patients were followed for 18 months. Mean ± SD of postoperative BCVA was 0.26 ± 0.16 (logarithm of minimal angle of resolution), and there was a significant improvement in BCVA after 6 months. At 18 months, mean ± SD postoperative average K was 44.48 ± 0.87 D, which was significantly lower than preoperative average K (58.42 ± 12.1). Postoperative astigmatism at 18 months (mean ± SD: 1.82 ± 0.67) was significantly lower than that at 6 months (mean ± SD: 3.27 ± 0.81) (p = 0.001).

Use of the decagonal trephination profile was effective to perform DALK. This study showed promising visual and refractive results. Longer follow-up, larger pool of patients, and comparative studies are necessary to determine advantages and optimal surgical settings of this technique.