indications for corneal transplantation at labbafinejad medical center, 2004-2007

purpose: to determine the indications for and surgical techniques of corneal transplantation at labbafinejad medical center (lmc) from 2004 to 2007. methods: in this descriptive study, records of 756 patients who had undergone corneal transplantation from october 2004 to october 2007 were reviewed. results: overall, 504 male (64.9%) and 272 female (35.1%) subjects with mean age of 41.29±21.25 (range: 10 days to 89 years) were operated. keratoconous (40.8%) was the leading indication for keratoplasty, followed by bullous keratopathy (11.7%), non herpetic corneal scar & opacity (8%), regrafts (7.8%), corneal ulcers (bacterial, fungal, acanthamoeba) (7.8%), herpetic corneal ulcer & scar (4.9%), corneal dystrophies (3.6%) and trachoma keratopathy (3.4%). the most common type of corneal transplantation was penetrating keratoplasty (pkp) (67.6%), other types included: deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (dalk) (13.9%), tectonic pk (10.3%), lamellar keratoplasty (lk) and automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (altk) (6.7%), descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (dsaek) (0.9%) and keratolimbal allograft (klal) (0.5%). conclusion: keratoconus remains the leading indication for corneal transplantation pk at lmc accounting for 40.9% of all grafts. but in comparison with previous studies, bullous keratopathy has increased. in our study the rate of lamellar keratoplasty, especially dalk, has also increased significantly. dsaek which was begun in 2007 at lmc is rapidly becoming the preferred treatment for corneal endothelial dysfunction at this center.