Impact of Surgical Learning Curve in Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty on Visual Acuity Gain.

Purpose: To evaluate the learning curve for graft preparation and graft unrolling during Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) and to assess the evolution of visual acuity gain and percentage cell loss with experience.

Methods: The first 109 DMEK procedures performed by a single surgeon (A.S.

Intraoperative OCT-Assisted DMEK: 14 Consecutive Cases.

Purpose: To describe the utility of a new intraoperative optical coherence tomographer (OCT) to evaluate endothelio-Descemet graft orientation during Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) procedures.

Methods: Prospective, observational, and single-center pilot case series including 14 eyes of 14 patients consecutively scheduled for DMEK surgery. After injecting the graft into the anterior chamber, the graft orientation was assessed with the help of anterior segment OCT.

Serological viral testing of cadaveric cornea donors.

Background: Cornea graft recipients are exposed to viral transmission from the donor. Cadaveric donor serum is often of poor quality and frequently yields falsely positive results in serological assays that may result in the graft being needlessly discarded.

Objective: We examined the influence of the time of blood collection after death, and the macroscopic aspect of serum, on serological test results in cadaveric cornea donors.

Expression of HLA-G in human cornea, an immune-privileged tissue.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G retains the capacity to modulate immune responses, favoring the establishment of tolerance in solid-tissue allotransplants. To better understand the mechanisms that promote corneal allograft survival, we investigated whether HLA-G was an immunoregulatory factor involved in corneal immunology. We therefore sought HLA-G expression in corneal tissues.