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EW SHOW DAILY
World Cornea Congress VII, San Diego 2015
Endothelial keratoplasty 'amazing'
by Chiles Aedam R. Samaniego EyeWorld Asia-Pacific Senior Staff Writer
digital.eyeworld.org
F
rancis W. Price Jr., MD,
Indianapolis, is known for
positioning his practice
at the very forefront of
endothelial keratoplasty. In
his keynote lecture on the subject
at Thursday morning's "Techniques
and Technologies for Endotheli-
al Keratoplasty" session at World
Cornea Congress (WCC) VII, Dr.
Price discussed the evolution of the
procedure, beginning with a concise
examination of its history, through
to new perspectives from current
practice and research, and on to a
brief look at the procedure's future.
As endothelial keratoplasty (EK)
has evolved, "we've gotten more
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EyeWorld Daily News • The official World Cornea Congress VII Daily
Friday, April 17, 2015
precise," he said. This sums up a
fundamental aspect of the proce-
dure's technical development over
the years. In the broadest sense, this
precision translates into the defining
difference between PK and EK—i.e.,
the specificity of the tissue being
transplanted, from a full-thickness
graft to selective, more and more
specific lamellar ones.
Early attempts at the procedure
failed due to the use of sutures—the
sutures simply did not work with the
cornea's curved architecture, ulti-
mately pulling through and coming
out the back of the donor tissue.
W
orld Cornea Congress
VII opened Thursday
morning with the
"Dystrophies,
Degenerations, and
Genetics" session moderated by
Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, Boston.
Ken Nischal, MD, Pittsburgh,
delivered the keynote address,
"Genetics of Congenital Corneal
Opacities: Impact on Diagnosis and
Treatment." In his presentation,
Dr. Nischal highlighted the short-
comings of the current terminology
that physicians use for diagnosing
and classifying congenital corneal
opacities. He shared with attendees
A novel classification system for
congenital corneal opacities
by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer
a new classification system he and
his colleagues have developed that
better describes the phenotypes of
these corneal opacities.
A better phenotypic classifica-
tion, he said, helps to narrow down
the genetic causes of disease and
aids physicians in determining the
best surgical treatment options for
their patients.
Pitfalls of the old system
Many types of corneal opacities are
often "diagnosed" as Peter's anoma-
ly or sclerocornea, Dr. Nischal said,
but these terms inaccurately describe
Dr. Price dreams of having more DMEK performed around the world to address
endothelial failure.
Dr. Nischal describes how "Peter's anomaly" and "sclerocornea" are inaccurate descriptions
of congenital corneal opacities.
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