Effect of penetrating keratoplaty rejection on the endothelium of the donor cornea and the recipient peripheral cornea

PURPOE: To determine the effect of penetrating keratoplaty rejection on the recipient endothelium. METHOD: Twenty tranplanted cornea of 20 keratoconu patient were enrolled in thi tudy. Ten of the cornea had undergone allograft rejection and the other 10 graft had an uneventful poturgical coure. The endothelium of the donor cornea and the endothelium of the recipient peripheral cornea were evaluated by wide-field pecular microcopy. REULT: The tranplanted cornea that underwent allograft rejection howed a marked decreae in endothelial cell denity not only in central donor cornea but alo in the recipient peripheral cornea compared with that in the uneventful tranplanted cornea. Additionally, the recipient endothelium had ignificant pleomorphim in the rejection group. There were no morphologic difference in the peripheral donor cornea between the control group and the rejection group. CONCLUION: Our finding indicate that the recipient peripheral endothelium i alo affected by allograft rejection, perhap becaue of the contribution of recipient endothelium to the wound healing proce after allograft rejection.