Postoperative endothelial cell loss after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in keratoconus eyes
| Outcomes | DALK group (n=228) | Big bubble-DALK subgroup (n=118) | Manual dissection-DALK subgroup (n=110) | PK group (n=274) | P value (DALK versus PK) |
| Percentage of endothelial cell loss per year | |||||
| Early phase | −9.2 (7.5) | −8.6 (6.6)* | −9.7 (6.6)* | −16.9 (12.7) | <0.00001 |
| Late phase | −2.3 (3.0) | −2.2 (2.7)* | −2.3 (3.2)* | −5.5 (4.3) | <0.00001 |
| Endothelial cell loss (cells/mm2) per year | |||||
| Early phase | −214 (460) | −190 (576)* | 236 (456)* | −593 (692) | <0.00001 |
| Late phase | −52 (134) | −48 (152)* | −54 (127)* | −100 (126) | <0.00001 |
Slopes were calculated using the biphasic linear model with a change in slope at 1 year postoperatively. Shown is the mean (SD)
*p<0.05 versus PK group.