Morphometric changes of corneal endothelial cells following intracameral air for micro perforation of the Descemet Membrane during big-bubble deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of intracameral air on the endothelial cell morphometrics.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective controlled interventional cohort study of 26 patients (18 males and 8 females) who underwent unilateral deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) for moderate keratoconus. The DALK patients were divided into two groups: a treatment group (14), which had micro perforations of the Descemet Membrane (DM) intraoperatively and received intracameral air at the end of the surgery; and an independent control group (12), which had no micro perforation and thus no intracameral air was injected.