Lamellar Keratoplasty: a New Corneal Splitting Instrument.

THis new aid to corneal grafting has been designed to facilitate and simplify the operative procedure of lamellar keratoplasty. The instrument, a combination of blunt dissector and a cutting knife, has been used successfully as the basis of the new splitting technique in which an exact replica of the corneal disc removed from the recipient globe can be matched and replaced by a similar disc of corneal graft tissue taken from the donor cornea. Fig. 1 shows the stainless steel non-slip handle and blade. The latter is divided into three parts: a domed "partially" cutting snake's head; a short narrow bevelled neck; and a longer body similarly bevelled which ends abruptly in an acute-angled "heel" by which the blade is joined to the handle. The blade is curved to the same degree as the cornea. When in use the instrument is quite rigid without whip or torque and is beautifully balanced.