Clinical Evaluation of the Efficacy of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the clinical outcome, efficacy, and safety of femtosecond laser-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, 21 males and 10 females aged from 15 to 62 years (mean 38.5) with different pathologies of the anterior corneal layers were enrolled for anterior lamellar keratoplasty using femtosecond laser VisuMax (Carl Zeiss, Germany). All patients were examined for uncorrected (UCVA) and best-corrected (BCVA) distance and near visual acuity, astigmatism, endothelial cell density, corneal thickness, and intraocular pressure. These examinations were performed before transplantation, at hospital discharge, and after 3 and 12 months. The mean follow-up time was 65.36 ± 28.54 months. Results: A statistically significant improvement of both UCVA and BCVA for distance and near vision was registered. BCVA improved from 0.11 preoperatively to 0.168 (p = 0.03), 0.267 (p < 0.01), and 0.472 (p < 0.01) on the hospital discharge day, three months, and 12 months respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in astigmatism, intraocular pressure, endothelial cell density, and corneal pachymetry as compared to preoperative and postoperative values. Six patients (19%) had a graft failure with a rate of 33% at 26 months. Conclusions: Femtosecond laser-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty is a safe and effective surgical method, providing satisfactory graft survival rates.