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Purpose: To study the causes of non-utilization of donor corneas and assess whether non-utilized tissues differ from utilized tissues with regard to age and endothelial cell density (ECD)., Methods: Aretrospective, cross-sectional analyses of all donor corneas collected from a network of 4 eye banks of a tertiary eye care institute in India during a 1-year period (January to December 2019) was conducted. All donor corneas were assessed for tissue quality by slit lamp evaluation, donor age, and specular microscopy. The causes of non-utilization and effect of donor age and ECD on tissue utilization were studied., Results: A total of 10,969 corneas were harvested during the study period; 4618 (42.1%) tissues were discarded. The main causes of non-utilization were poor tissue quality accounting for 86.16% (n = 3979) of all discarded corneas. The mean donor age was 50.7 ± 2.9 years and 63.3 ± 2.3 years for used and discarded corneas, respectively (P < 0.0001). The mean ECD of donor tissues was significantly (P < 0.0001) higher in the utilization group (2787.3 ± 77.4 cells/mm2) than that in the non-utilization group (2394.4 ± 82.5 cells/mm2). Donor age and ECD and their interaction were significant (P < 0.001) predictors of tissue utilization rate., Conclusions: Donor age and ECD and their interaction were significantly associated with the rate of utilization of donor corneal tissues., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe the clinical profile and microbiology trends in patients undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty at a multi-tier ophthalmology hospital network in India., Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 3147 eyes undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty between Jan 2016 and Dec 2020 (5 years period) as cases. The demographic data, clinical profile and microbiological analysis were collected using an electronic medical record system., Results: Of a total of 13,625 eyes with microbial keratitis(non-viral), 3147 (23.1%) underwent therapeutic keratoplasty during the study duration. Majority of patients were males (68.35%), from a rural geography (49.89%) and in 51-60 years age bracket (23.74%). The mean age of the patients was 50.54 ± 15.83 years. Two-thirds of patients were from lower socio-economic strata (66.63%) with an agrarian background (36.51%). Of the 3,147 eyes, fungus (51.8%) was the most common indication of therapeutic keratoplasty followed by bacteria (16.87%) and parasite (1.27%). No organisms could be identified in about a third (29.33%) of the cases. Between 2016 and 2020, the trend of therapeutic keratoplasties for fungal infections steadily grew (39.9% vs 45.49%) while the bacterial infections showed a steady decline (23.15% vs 11.81%)., Conclusions: Medical cure rate was seen in majority of those with microbial keratitis, and 23.1% eventually required management with therapeutic keratoplasty. Fungal keratitis was the most common indication for therapeutic keratoplasty. Male gender, rural setting, low socio-economic background and agricultural occupation are common risk factors for patients undergoing therapeutic keratoplasty in India., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on keratoplasty and Eye Banking in India., Methods: An e-mail survey was conducted among cornea surgeons and eye bankers of India. Participants were asked to report their practice patterns for the management of corneal perforation during lockdown, different preservative media used during and before lockdown, and waiting time and waiting time before COVID-19 lockdown., Results: Eight of 20 eye banks did not collect corneal tissue during April-June 2020; in contrast, 9 eye banks used to collect around 100 corneas per month during pre-COVID-19 time. Two-third of the surgeons (66.1%, n = 41/62) did not perform any corneal tissue transplant between April and June 2020. Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive application was the most commonly, performed procedure (79%, n = 49/62) for tectonic purpose during this period. Glycerol was the most preferred alternative preservation method considered by both the groups. More than half of the surgeons (64.5%, n = 40/62) had an average waiting time of <1 week for scheduling patients for keratoplasty in pre-COVID-19 period., Conclusion: There is was a significant drop in both corneal tissue retrieval and utilization during during COVID-19 lockdown. There was a felt need for an alternate long term storage media., Competing Interests: None

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discuss the guidelines and modification of practices with respect to corneal transplantation and eye banking during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period and beyond, at a network of tertiary care centers in India., Methods: Descriptive study of the challenges faced in eye banking during the lockdown, and practices adopted to overcome the critical aspects in the clinical care of patients who presented with emergency corneal diseases requiring keratoplasty., Results: Complete lockdown orders from the Indian government, as a strategy to control the Coronavirus pandemic, resulted in drastic reduction of all types of elective corneal transplants and eye banking activities from March 24, 2020 to May 31, 2020. The sudden cessation of eye banking resulted in an acute demand and supply imbalance of fresh donor corneas for transplants during this time. Our network of eye banks addressed this issue by adopting glycerol preservation of donor corneas, which were subsequently utilized for tectonic penetrating keratoplasty. The donor cornea retrieval was resumed in a strategized manner 3 weeks prior to the date of exit of the lockdown, with modified guidelines on donor suitability, screening, retrieval, processing, and harvesting from various sources. A triage of keratoplasty priority was formulated to tide over the post lockdown shortage of corneas. We performed 31 therapeutic keratoplasties during the nationwide lockdown among our network of tertiary eye care centers., Conclusion: The study highlights the approach and strategies to manage and tide over an unprecedented crisis situation faced by corneal surgeons in general and, specifically, the eye banking community., Competing Interests: None

A young female presented with blurred vision in the left eye after she rubbed her eye. On examination of both eyes, she had 360° thinning adjacent to the limbus, lipid deposition and superficial vascularization with a perforation in the left eye. The patient was diagnosed with bilateral Terrien's marginal degeneration (TMD) with perforation. Corneal topography of the right eye revealed high oblique astigmatism confirming the diagnosis. A peripheral patch graft was performed for the left eye. At 18 months postoperatively, the best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes. The graft was clear. Topography of right eye was stable, and the left eye had oblique astigmatism. Bilateral advanced TMD in a young patient presenting with corneal perforation following trivial trauma is extremely uncommon. Patch graft may be an option for restoring the globe integrity in such cases. Regular follow-up is necessary as the condition progresses slowly.

Keywords: Acute hydrops; descemets stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty; Keratoglobus There has been a single case of DSAEK for keratoglobus with chronic hydrops due to spontaneous Descemet's membrane tear.[[4]] We demonstrated that for nonresolving corneal hydrops in keratoglobus, DSAEK followed by cataract surgery, though technically demanding, provided gratifying and early visual rehabilitation. [Extracted from the article]