Purpose: This article explores the application of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in assessing corneal neovascularization (CoNV) and investigates the features of CoNV in eyes with corneal transplantation.
Methods: A pilot, case series, observational study was conducted to enroll patients who underwent corneal transplantation including penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) and deep lamellar keratoplasty (DLKP) with or without additional keratolimbal allograft transplantation. All patients were followed with a series of ophthalmologic examinations including slit-lamp photography and were then imaged with the anterior segment OCTA.
Results: The study included 15 eyes of 14 patients (12 men; mean age of 37.4 ± 13.3 years), of which 9 eyes had undergone PKP and 6 eyes DLKP. OCTA was able to clearly identify the features of CoNV in eyes with significant CoNV and to confirm the presence of CoNV in eyes suspected of having CoNV. Four types of CoNV (superficial, stromal, fringe, and recipient-bed CoNV) were discovered by OCTA based on their location and depth. Superficial CoNV was mainly discovered in eyes that had undergone PKP (88.9% ± 11.1%), whereas the recipient-bed CoNV, once thought to be located in the host-graft interface, was discovered to grow in the host cornea only in eyes that had undergone DLKP (83.3% ± 16.7%). Comparing the assessment by 2 masked observers revealed a kappa value of 0.94, indicating excellent agreement.
Conclusions: OCTA can be useful to visualize CoNV, which may be valuable in assessing corneal graft rejection.