Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty for Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome: A Case Series

Abstract BacKground: To evaluate the clinical outcomes and features of Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) for eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX). Methods: In this retrospective study, 37 DMEK cases were reviewed from available medical records. Patients who exhibited endothelial dysfunction derived from PEX or Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) and successfully underwent cataract surgery about four weeks before DMEK were enrolled. The best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), central corneal thickness (CCT), endothelial cell density (ECD), and incidence of intra-operative/post-operative complications of DMEK were analyzed. Results: This study included 14 eyes of 14 patients (PEX: n=6, FECD: n=8). There was no primary graft failure. In the PEX group, BSCVA improved from 0.67 ± 0.28 at the preoperative point to 0.43 ± 0.14 at 1 month, 0.27 ± 0.10 at 3 months, and 0.19 ± 0.08 at 6 months after DMEK. The donor corneal ECD was 2,704 ± 225 cells/mm2 at the preoperative point and decreased to 1,691 ± 498 cells/mm2 at 1 month, 1,425 ± 366 cells/mm2 at 3 months, and 1,281 ± 340 cells/mm2 (52.7 ± 11.7% less than ECD of the donor graft) at 6 months after DMEK. None of the patients required rebubbling. When compared with the FECD group, no statistical difference was observed in CCT (p=0.821); BSCVA (p=0.001) and the reduction rate of ECD (p=0.010) were relatively worse. Conclusions: DMEK is effective for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction due to PEX. Keywords: Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, bullous keratopathy, endothelial keratoplasty