Purpose: To compare the biomechanical properties of the unilateral operated corneas in patients who had undergone Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) for pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK) with those of the contralateral normal corneas.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at university hospitals (Department of Ophthalmology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel, and S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery State Institution, Moscow, Russia). Forty eyes of 20 patients who underwent DMEK for unilateral PBK 3.5 to 36 months ago and with normal fellow eyes were included in the study. An ocular response analyzer was used to measure the corneal biomechanical properties in the operated and normal fellow eyes. The main outcome measures were corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal resistance factor (CRF).
Results: The mean CH (8.4 ± 1.5 mmHg vs. 8.2 ± 1.5 mmHg, P = 0.707) and the mean CRF (8.7 ± 1.6 mmHg vs. 8.3 ± 1.6 mmHg, P = 0.419) values did not show any statistically significant difference between the operated and the normal fellow eyes.
Conclusions: In our study, the corneas that underwent DMEK for PBK showed normal values for biomechanical parameters. These findings support the previous studies that have reported near complete visual, functional, and ultra-structural rehabilitation of the corneas following DMEK.
Keywords: Corneal biomechanics; DMEK; Intraocular pressure; Keratoplasty.