Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
Full-Field Optical Coherence Microscopy for Histology-Like Analysis of Stromal Features in Corneal Grafts
Published on: October 21, 2022
Mechanical Stability of Cryopreserved Split-Thickness Tectonic Corneal Grafts
Joel R Palko1, Yanhui Ma2, Xueliang Pan3
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV.
Purpose:
To evaluate the influence of cryopreservation on the pressure-strain relationship of microkeratome dissected anterior stromal grafts (ASGs).
Methods:
Partial thickness ASGs were created from 7 pairs of human corneas and randomized to immediate grafting or grafting after 3 months of cryopreservation at -80°C into a whole globe ex vivo corneal perforation model. High frequency ultrasound speckle tracking was used to calculate the cross-sectional axial and lateral strains in each graft at increasing intraocular pressure (IOP) from 5 to 30 mm Hg. The mean axial and lateral strains were compared between the paired groups.
Results:
The mean axial and lateral strains were not significantly different between the cryopreserved and noncryopreserved ASGs. The mean lateral strains at 30 mm Hg in the noncryopreserved and cryopreserved grafts were 2.4% ± 2.1% and 1.4% ± 0.7% (P = 0.294), respectively. The mean axial strains at 30 mm Hg in the noncryopreserved and cryopreserved grafts were -7.8% ± 3.3% and -5.5% ± 3.0% (P = 0.198), respectively. A linear pressure-strain relationship was found for all grafts at physiologic IOP.
Conclusions:
ASGs cryopreserved at -80°C maintain their IOP-strain relationship compared with noncryopreserved ASGs at physiologic pressures, supporting the potential use of cryopreserved human corneal stroma for patch grafting procedures.
