[Keratoprosthesis with Biological Haptic - The Düsseldorf-Offenburg-Experience with Osteo-Odonto- and...

In severe ocular surface disease with limbal stem cell deficiency associated with severe dry eye, penetrating keratoplasty is likely to fail. In these cases, and provided the posterior segment is normal, keratoprosthesis surgery (KPro) can achieve visual rehabilitation. In KPros with an autologous biological haptic, a bone-tooth-complex (osteo-odonto-keratoprothesis, OOKPro) or a piece of tibial cortex (tibia-keratoprosthesis, TKPro) is used to carry a PMMA cylinder. This construct can successfully be implanted even in severely dry eyes and in those with autoimmune disease, in which other KPro designs frequently fail. Herein we review the published anatomic long-term results of OOKPro and TKPro on our own patients. With a mean follow-up of 7.5 years (max. 20.6) for OOKPro and 4.5 years (max. 13.3) for TKPro patients, the retention rate was 91 and 86%, respectively. We are unaware of any other technique for artificial replacement of the cornea with equally positive long-term results as KPros with a biological haptic.