Epikeratophakia on pediatric traumatized corneas

Four children ranging from 4 to 6 years of age with unilateral aphakia and corneal scarring secondary to penetrating injuries were treated with epikeratophakia. One child had undergone a rotational penetrating keratoplasty to displace the corneal scar from the visual axis prior to the epikeratophakia procedure. In all of the cases, nonlyophilized donor tissue was utilized. The procedure was successful in all four cases. The average best corrected postoperative visual acuity was 20/45. These results confirm prior studies suggesting that epikeratophakia can be performed successfully on partially opaque and scarred corneas in pediatric aphakic eyes.