Penetrating keratoplasty using McCarey-Kaufman preserved corneal tissue

Two hundred consecutive penetrating keratoplasties, using suitable donor corneas stored in modified tissue culture medium (M-K medium), were performed by a single surgeon over a 21-month period. Two hundred consecutive cultures of the donor corneosclearl rims for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and fungi, done immediately after surgery, yielded 25 positive cultures for aerobic and anerobic bacteria and three for fungi. No clinical infections nor primary donor failures were encountered with patients after one to 21 months of follow-up. Preservation of excised corneas by trained technicians, under rigidly sterile, laminar-flow, tissue culture conditions appears to be a convenient, safe, and effective method of corneal preservation which permits elective keratoplasty.