Changes In Stromal And Corneal Thickness After Corneal Allograft Implantation For Near Vision Improvement In Emmetropic Presbyopia

To confirm the intended corneal thickness and corneal stromal thickness changes with the achieved thickness changes after implantation of a presbyopic allogeneic corneal inlay (ACI) implanted in their non-dominant eye

Wellington Eye Clinic

This study involved 23 emmetropic presbyopia patients who underwent ACI implantation for presbyopia in their non-dominant eye and had a follow-up at 6 months. Pre-op and follow-up measurements were acquired with the MS-39 AS-OCT (CSO, Firenze, Italy) at 6 (23 patients) months . Difference maps in stromal thickness and corneal thickness were derived from the pre-op and follow up measurements. The change in stromal thickness was evaluated as the maximum over the region effected by the implanted allograft. Change in corneal thickness is evaluated automatically by the software of the device..

The mean preoperative stromal thickness was 487.63 ± 20.78 µm, and the mean postoperative stromal thickness was 510.65 ± 20.64 µm resulting in a mean thickness change  of 22.22 ± 4.11 µm. , The mean preoperative corneal thickness was 543.58 ± 21.86 µm, and the mean postoperative corneal thickness was 554.39 ± 22.19 µm resulting in a mean thickness change  of 10.43 ± 4.83 µm.  There a statistically significant relationship between change in corneal thickness and change in stromal thickness at 6 months (p<0.001, R²=0.67) .

The average change in stromal thickness at 6 months shows a strong agreement with the central design thickness of the ACI to be 22 µm and 8 µm for the corneal thickness. The results demonstrate  that the ACI retains its intended thickness 6 months after implantation, while the expected epithelial remodelling is responsible for the comparatively lower increase in corneal thickness.