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Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Graft edge lift after Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK)

Graft edge lift after Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK)

Category(ies): Cornea
Contributor: Jesse Vislisel, MD
Photographer: Toni Venckus, CRA

Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) is a subtype of corneal transplantation in which a very thin donor lenticule consisting of Descemet's membrane and endothelium is transplanted into the recipient eye. During the surgery, a gas bubble is placed into the anterior chamber to press the graft against the posterior surface of the host cornea, resulting in adherence. Graft "edge lift" refers to non-adherence of peripheral areas of the graft. If the graft is oriented correctly with the endothelium facing toward the anterior chamber, it will roll, or scroll, toward the host corneal stroma. These photographs show an inferior edge lift of a DMEK graft, visible as a thin layer illuminated by the slit beam just deep to the corneal stroma with scrolling inferiorly. The anterior segment OCT shows another view of the edge lift.