Introduction: Automated lamellar keratoplasty remains a challenging surgical technique because of surgical difficulties and is associated with a high rate of complications. The precision of the corneal cut at any corneal depth with the femtosecond laser is an important improvement in this technique. We report the first case of femtosecond-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty.
Material and methods: A 63-year-old woman with anterior stromal dystrophy underwent femtosecond laser-assisted ALTK on the left eye. A donor lenticula was prepared from a corneoscleral rim utilizing the Femtec 20/10 Perfectvision femtosecond laser device and an artificial anterior chamber (Moria, Antony, France). The anterior lamellar cut was also performed on the patient's eye with the femtosecond laser.
Results: Postoperative examinations showed a well-adapted graft with a clear interface. OCT III (Carl Zeiss Meditech, Dublin) measurements showed a corneal pachymetry of 713 microm associated with a regular posterior bed and a central thickness of 132 microm.
Discussion: Femtosecond laser corneal cutting may offer greater safety, reproducibility, predictability, and flexibility. The risks of irregular cutting and microperforation are reduced. A better graft congruence can limit the risk of secondary displacement and the smooth interface should improve visual results.
Conclusion: Donor lenticulae and corneal cuttings performed with the Femtec 20/10 Perfectvision( femtosecond laser device can be used in the successful management of eyes requiring anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Further studies are needed to evaluate outcomes of this procedure.