Outcomes of Corneal Transplantation Using Donor Corneas Retrieved From Snakebite Victims

To report the outcomes of corneal transplantation using donor corneas retrieved from snakebite victims.

This study was a retrospective analysis of 30 corneal transplants performed from 2014 to 2016 using donor corneas retrieved from snakebite victims. The details of the donor corneal characteristics and the transplant recipients were collected from the eye bank and the medical records department.

The mean age of the donors was 30.4 ± 17.5 years. The median death-to-preservation time was 3.3 hours [interquartile range: 1.3-5.6 hours]. Ninety percent (27/30) of the corneas were evaluated as optical grade, and 10% (3/30) of the corneas were deemed as therapeutic grade. The mean endothelial cell density on specular microscopy of the donor corneas was 2943 ± 615 cells/mm, and median corneal thickness was 514 μm (interquartile range: 506-520). Seventy-five percent of the corneas transplanted had cleared, with a mean follow-up duration of 1.5 ± 1.0 years (range: 0.4-3.7) years and mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) visual acuity of 0.51 ± 0.27 (range: 0-1.2) at the last follow-up.

The donor corneas retrieved from snakebite victims are apparently safe and suitable for transplantation, and screening for such donor corneas should include a thorough examination of ocular adnexa to rule out local envenomation before corneal retrieval in addition to the routine evaluation protocol.