Restoration of Vision in Severe, Cicatricial, Ocular Surface Disease With the Boston Keratoprosthesis Type II

To assess clinical outcomes of patients with severe, cicatricial ocular surface disease (OSD) implanted with the currently marketed design of the Boston keratoprosthesis type II (BK2).

Retrospective cohort study.

Records of consecutive patients undergoing BK2 implantation from June 2009 to March 2021 were assessed for postoperative visual acuity, postoperative complications, device replacement, and additional surgeries.

Fifty-six eyes of 53 patients with a mean follow-up of 45.8 months (range, 0.2-134.7 months) were included. Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis was the most common indication (49.1%), followed by mucous membrane pemphigoid (39.6%) and other OSD (11.3%). Visual acuity improved from logMAR 2.2 ± 0.5 preoperatively to 1.5 ± 1.2 at final follow-up. Of 56 eyes, 50 saw ≥20/200 at some point postoperatively. Of the eyes with a follow-up of more than 5 years, 50.0% retained a visual acuity of ≥20/200 at their final follow-up. The most common complications over the entire postoperative course (mean ∼4 years) were de novo or worsening glaucoma (41.1%), choroidal effusions (30.3%), retinal detachment (25.0%), and end-stage glaucoma (25.0%). In a univariate analysis, patients who experienced irreversible loss of ≥20/200 visual acuity were more likely to have been previously implanted with an older design of BK2, less likely to be on preoperative systemic immunosuppressive therapy, and less likely to have undergone concurrent glaucoma tube implantation, compared to patients who retained ≥20/200 acuity (P < .04 for all).

Advances in device design and postoperative care have made implantation of BK2 a viable option for corneal blindness in the setting of severe cicatricial OSD.