Repeat Femtosecond-Assisted Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty for Recurrence of TGF B I Dystrophy in Eyes After Previous FALK

Abstract

Purpose: To report the management of recurrent TGF BI dystrophy after prior femtosecond-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty (FALK) with repeat FALK. Methods: Clinical and histopathological study of 2 eyes of 2 patients with a recurrence of TGFBI dystrophy. Patient 1 had Reis–Buckler corneal dystrophy, and patient 2 had granular corneal dystrophy GCD type 1. Results: Patient 1 had FALK 8 years ago, when she was 23 years old. Patient 2 had FALK 7 years ago at the age of 24 years. Slit-lamp examination showed recurrence in the subepithelial layer of the anterior lamellar graft as confluent chalky white granular deposits. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography highlighted the deposits in the subepithelial region of the anterior lamellar graft. The anterior lamellar graft with deposits was removed and replaced with another graft created using femtolaser dissection of a healthy donor. The parameters for femtosecond laser-assisted donor dissection was similar to the size and depth as the previously used donor. The best-corrected visual acuity was restored to 20/30 in patient 1 and 20/25 in patient 2. The histology of the anterior lamellar graft showed eosinophilic deposits between the epithelium and the Bowman layer in both samples. In addition, the corneal sample from patient 2 revealed Bowman layer breach at some places and few deposits at 1 edge of the lamellar graft. Conclusions: Repeat FALK with a healthy donor is effective in the management of recurrence of deposits. The histology of the recurrence in the anterior lamellar graft revealed eosinophilic deposits predominantly between the epithelium and Bowman layer.