A Comparison Of Anterior Scleral Thickness And Angle Parameters After Penetrating Keratoplasty For The Treatment Of Pseudophakic Bullous Keratopathy And The Control Group: Ss-Oct Study

To investigate the anterior scleral thickness (AST) and its associations with Schlemm's canal (SC) area, trabecular meshwork (TM) thickness and length, and scleral spur (SS) length in eyes with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK) that underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and to compare with control group.

The study was conducted in Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, department of ophthalmology. 

This comparative study included 18 patients who underwent PK for PBK and age and sex matched 30 patients who underwent uneventful cataract surgery. The AST, SC area, TM thickness and length, and SS length were measured using swept-source optical coherence tomography. AST was measured at 0 mm (AST0), 1 mm (AST1), 2 mm (AST2), and 3 mm (AST3) from SS. Associations between AST and SC area, TM thickness and length, and SS length were also estimated.

No statistical difference was observed between the groups regarding age and sex (P > 0.05). In both groups, all AST measurements were similar (p > 0.05). In the keratoplasty group, the area and diameter of Schlemm canal and TM length were statistically significantly lower compared with the control group in the nasal quadrant (p = 0.03, p < 0.001, p < 0.001 respectively) and in the temporal quadrant (p = 0.03, p < 0.001, p= 0.02  respectively). In the keratoplasty group, SS lengths were shorter than those in the control in the nasal quadrant (p = 0.002) and in the temporal quadrant (p = 0.004).

Our findings show that structural changes for angle configuration may occur after penetrating keratoplasty. The findings of this study may contribute to the explanation of pathophysiology of the developing glaucoma following therapeutic keratoplasty.