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Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Corneal Donor Tissue Preparation for Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
Published on: September 17, 2014
Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty in South Asian Population
Vipul Bhandari1, Jagdeesh K Reddy1, Prateek Chougale1
1Department of Cornea, Sankara Eye Centre, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Purpose:
To evaluate visual outcomes, endothelial cell density and complications following Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).
Methods:
This study included 40 consecutive eyes that underwent DMEK for various pathologies involving the corneal endothelium. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and endothelial cell density (ECD) were measured and compared before and 6 months after surgery.
Results:
Out of 40 eyes, 34 eyes (85%) had BCVA ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 LogMAR 6 months postoperatively. Mean donor ECD was 2367.96 ± 47.87 (range, 2314.0-2472.0) cells/mm2 preoperatively, which was reduced to 1798.42 ± 45.79 (range, 1736.0-1902.0) cells/mm2 6 months after DMEK surgery, indicating a mean reduction of 569.54 cells/mm2 (24%) in ECD.
Conclusion:
DMEK is an emerging and a more advanced alternative to penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) and Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) for corneal pathologies involving the corneal endothelium. Compared to PK and DSEK, however, DMEK has a longer learning curve, and its safety and efficacy need to be confirmed through more experience on a large volume of cases.
