Clinical Evaluation of the Graft Rejection after Penetrating Keratoplasty.

Seo, Jin Su; Jeong, Sang Ki; Yang, Kun Jin; Park, Yeong Geol

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1997;38(7):1121-1127.
Published online July 1, 1997.

Clinical Evaluation of the Graft Rejection after Penetrating Keratoplasty.

Jin Su Seo, Sang Ki Jeong, Kun Jin Yang, Yeong Geol Park

Department of Ophthalmology, Chonnam University Medical School Kwangju, Korea.

전체층각막이식수술후 이식편 거부반응에 대한 임상적 고찰

서진수(Jin Su Seo),정상기(Sang Ki Jeong),양건진(Kun Jin Yang),박영걸(Yeong Geol Park)

Abstract

In order to evaluate risk factors (sex, age, preoperative diagnoses, graft size, neovascularization of the recipient cornea, bilaterality, history of the previous graft failure, doner corneal preservation method, phakic status, glaucoma and enucleation time after death) influencing graft rejection, we reviewed 96 eyes underwent penetrating keratoplasty at the Chonnam University Hospital from May 1992 to December 1995, retrospectively. The rate of the graft rejection in penetrating keratoplasty was 34.3% (33 eyes). In detail, graft rejection occurred in 16 eyes(47%) among 34 vascularized corneas of recipient(R=18.0, P=0.000), 23 eyes(69.7%) among 33 vascularized orneas of donor side after operation (R=0.3, P=0.010), 5 eyes(35.7%) among 14 bilateral grafts, 4 eyes (57.1%) among 7 eyes having a history of graft failure, 6 eyes(40.0%) among 15 aphakic eyes(R=3.84, P=0.033), and 14 eyes among 32 eyes enucleated longer than 6 hours after death (R=10.1, P=0.002). In contrast, graft rejection occurred in 13 eyes (76.5%) among 17 postoperative glaucomatous eyes and in 20 eyes (25.3%) among 79 postoperative non-glaucomatous eyes, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups(P>0.05). These results suggest that neovascularzation of the either donor or recipient cornea, aphakic status of the recipient eyes, and enucleation time longer than 6 hours after death are high risk factors for graft rejection.

Key Words: Graft rejection;Penetrating keratoplasty;Vascularized graft