Indications and Outcomes of Repeat Keratoplasty for Graft Failure at a Tertiary Eye Care Center in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION: Graft failure is a common complication following keratoplasty requiring repeat keratoplasty (re-KP). OBJECTIVES: To determine the indications and outcome of repeat keratoplasty at a tertiary eye care centre in Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 78 patients who underwent re-KP for graft failure in Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology from Jan 2015 to Dec 2020. Indications for the primary keratoplasty, causes of graft failure and outcomes of re-KP in terms of vision acuity, graft clarity and secondary glaucoma were evaluated. Cases of regraft with less than one-year follow-up period were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 78 re-KPs had been performed in 78 patients during the study period. Seventy eyes had undergone single corneal regraft and 8 eyes had undergone multiple (second or third) regraft surgery. Most common indication of primary keratoplasty was infectious keratitis (n=36; 46.2%). On follow up, 36 eyes (46.2%) were clear at the last visit, of which 31 eyes were single regraft cases and 5 were of multiple regraft cases. Most common cause of graft failure was graft infection (n=34; 43.6%) followed by corneal scarring (n=12; 15.4%). Of 42 eyes with failed regrafts, recurrence of the preoperative infection was commonest cause (n=15, 35.7%) followed by secondary glaucoma (n=11; 26.2%). Of 36 eyes with clear regraft, only 4 eyes (11.11%) achieved best corrected vision of ≥6/18 and remaining 32 eyes had BCVA <6/18 due to associated cataract, secondary glaucoma and high astigmatism. CONCLUSION: The most common cause for re-KP includes graft infection followed by secondary glaucoma. Outcomes of corneal regrafts in the form of graft clarity and visual acuity are suboptimal.

Indication and Outcome of Paediatric Keratoplasty at a Tertiary Referral Eye Hospital in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric keratoplasty is rarely performed surgery with high risk of graft failure. Developing countries have not benefited due to lack of sufficient facilities and trained surgeons. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to analyze the indications and its outcome in terms of vision and graft survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective chart review used electronic medical records from January 2017 to December 2019 of all consecutive patients aged upto18 years or below that underwent paediatric keratoplasty after ethical approval at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology. Outcome was defined as anatomical or visual success and graft clarity. Different demographic and surgical parameters were studied among 59 eyes of 48 patients. RESULTS: Mean age of recipient was 12.23± 3.81 years. Majority 37 (52.5%) had unilateral grafts with keratoconus being the most common 24 (40.6%) acquired non-traumatic indication. Mean post-operative best corrected visual acuity 0.6 Logmar was significantly (p <0.001) low as compared to preoperative 1.3 Logmar. Overall graft survival rate was 47 (78%) at one-year follow-up; keratoconus accounting for 24 (100%). Major factors in contributing for graft failure were rejection, infection, and glaucoma. CONCLUSION: A good outcome in terms of anatomical and visual success was achieved in our study. Keratoconus has an excellent graft survival. Visual rehabilitation by cycloplegic refraction should be done to prevent amblyopia. Enhancing the training of surgeons and addressing challenges faced in a paediatric population will help decrease corneal blindness among paediatric patients in the future.

Demography, indications and outcome of descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) is performed for corneal endothelial pathology. It had gained popularity over penetrating keratoplasty (PK) because of better outcome. METHODS: Retrospective data was collected from records of patients who underwent DSAEK from 2005 to 2019. Demography, indications and post-operative complications of DSAEK were analyzed. Outcome was measured in terms of graft clarity and vision. RESULTS: 93 eyes of 86 patients had undergone DSAEK in the study period of 15 years. Average age of the patients was 61.0 years. 55.9% were female. The common indications for DSAEK were cataract surgery related bullous keratopathy (n=47, 50.5%), Fuchs dystrophy (n=22, 23.6%) and failed graft (n=11, 11.8%). 8.6% of surgeries had graft detachment and 5.3% had pupillary block in the early post-operative period. Outcome analysis was done for cases (n=80) which had follow-up duration of at least 2 months (range: 2 months to 11 years; average: 28.5 months).Endothelial rejection occurred in 8 cases (10.0%), 5 of which regained graft clarity after treatment. At the last follow-up visit, 23.8% (n=19) of grafts had failed, which was mostly due to endothelial failure (n=16); 3 grafts failed due to infective keratitis. 42.5% (n=34) acquired best corrected vision of 6/18 or better. The average astigmatic error was 1.6 Diopter Cylinder by refraction. CONCLUSION: DSAEK showed good outcome with our results comparable to other studies. It had replaced traditional PK in our institute for endothelial dysfunction. Surgeons in the country should be encouraged and trained to do the procedure.

Recurrence of Avellino Corneal Dystrophy Following Penetrating Keratoplasty: A Case Report.

Granular - lattice (Avellino) corneal dystrophy is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion which affects stroma of the cornea with recurrent erosions and decreased vision due to clouding of cornea in later stage. We reported a case of 53-year old woman presented with pain and blurring of vision of left eye for 10 days with history of right eye deep anterior lamellar dystrophy and Left eye penetrating keratoplasty 5years back for Avellino dystrophy. On examination right eye graft was clear and left eye showed circular edges of irregular epithelium with patchy stains and epithelial defect suggestive of recurrence of dystrophy. A patient with recurrent corneal erosions and opacity in cornea has to be examined carefully so as not to overlook Avellino corneal dystrophy. Being a rare disorder this case has been reported to draw the attention of ophthalmologists about its recurrence following keratoplasty.

A Case of Acute Gonococcal Conjunctivitis in an Unusual Age Group.

INTRODUCTION: This is a case of case of acute gonococcal conjunctivitis in a 2.5 years old female child. CASE: A 2.5 years old female child presented with redness, purulent and profuse discharge from left eye with associated upper eyelid swelling. The culture of conjunctival swab revealed Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The child was treated with intravenous antibiotics and fortified medications. CONCLUSION: Unlike young adults and newborn gonococcal conjunctivitis (GCC), children can have a nonsexual mode of transmission and could be seen in an unusual age group. For the management of the diseases, proper history including sexual abuse history and thorough physical examination is mandatory, which is sometimes difficult in a developing country. Gonococcal conjunctivitis in the toddler group should be kept in consideration.

Tectonic Graft for Persistent Leakage and Visual Outcome After Corneal Perforation Repair: A Case Series.

Keratoplasty is a modality of treatment for large and leaking corneal perforation in a tertiary center. We report cases of 20and 30-years old men presented in an emergency with history of road traffic accident 1 and 3 days back. Best corrected visual acuity was hand movement in both injured eye. Slit lamp examination of both cases revealed full thickness corneal laceration with Siedel test positive. Both cases underwent corneal laceration repair with resuturing and corneal glue on consecutive days but couldn't seal the leaking wound. Then ultimately both were undergone for tectonic keratoplasty. The final best corrected visual activity of involved eye was 6/36 in case 1 and 6/24 in case 2. Most cases of traumatic corneal perforation undergone urgent corneal repair but sometimes very difficult to seal the wound. In such cases donor cornea tissue may have to be used to maintain integrity of globe and better visual potential. Keywords: corneal perforation; laceration; siedel test; tectonic keratoplasty.

Clinical Profile on Keratoconus Presenting at A Tertiary Eye Care Centre- Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology.

INTRODUCTION: Keratoconus (KC), is a bilateral, noninflammatory degenerative disease of the cornea which is characterized by progressive corneal ectasia and loss of visual function. The onset of KC is commonly seen at puberty and affects approximately 1 in 2000 in the general population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical profile of keratoconus in the tertiary eye centre in Nepal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It is a retrospective, hospital based, consecutive study from June 2017 to May 2018. A total of 66 patients (114 eyes) were diagnosed cases of Keratoconus presented in Cornea clinic of Tilganga institute of Ophthalmology. Parameters investigated included patients' demography, keratometric readings, visualacuity and manifest refraction. Classification of keratoconus was based on Amslern-Krumeich grading system (modified). RESULTS: The mean age of subjects was 18.73 (range: 10-65). Male/female distribution was 48 (72.7%) and 18 (27.3%) respectively. 48 (72.7%) had bilateral keratoconus and 18 (27.3%) were unilateral. Mean Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) was 0.80 (range: 0.01-1.00), mean visual acuity ( VA) with spectacle correction was 0.47 (range: 0.01-1.00). Mean spherical amount of refractive was -2.17 (range: -0.50 to -17.00D) and mean cylindrical amount of refraction was -2.85 (range: 0.00 to -6.00). Mean spherical equivalent (SE) of refraction was -4.26 (range: -0.50 to -22.50D). Mean flattest keratometric reading (K1) was 49.63 (range: 40.63-76.70D) and mean steepest keratometric reading (K2) was 53.14 (range: 41.63-73.21D). Mean average keratometric reading was 51.43 (range: 41.63-72.10D). Regarding disease severity, 35.68% of subjects were classified as mild keratoconus, 29.73% as moderate keratoconus, 9.73% as advance keratoconus, while 24.86% were found with the severestage of keratoconus. 78.9% of total eyes presented with minimum pachymetry of 401 to 500 mm. CONCLUSION: Clinical profile of Nepalese keratoconus patients looks similar to that reported earlier worldwide. The condition was found to manifest at a younger age and was more common in males.