Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun;261(6):1627-1637.
doi: 10.1007/s00417-022-05961-7. Epub 2023 Jan 12.

Impact of keratoprosthesis implantation on retinal and visual pathway function assessed by electrophysiological testing

Luzia Diegues Silva  1 , Adriana Berezovsky  1 , Solange Rios Salomão  1 , Nívea Nunes Ferraz  1 , Carina Verna  1 , Tarciana de Souza Soares  1 , Lauro Augusto de Oliveira  2
Affiliations

Impact of keratoprosthesis implantation on retinal and visual pathway function assessed by electrophysiological testing

Luzia Diegues Silva et al. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the impact of Boston Type I Keratoprosthesis (BI-Kpro) implantation on retinal and visual pathway function, respectively, assessed by full-field electroretinography (ERG) and visually evoked potentials (VEPs).

Methods: This is a prospective interventional longitudinal study, and patients with BI-Kpro implantation were assessed preoperatively and at 3 and 12 months after surgery. ERG, flash, and pattern-reversal VEPs (15' and 60' checks) along with visual acuity (VA) were performed.

Results: A total of 13 patients (24 to 88 years of age) were included. Mean baseline VA (logMAR) improved from 2.30 to 1.04 at 3 months and to 1.00 at 12 months. Flash VEPs were normal in 6 (46%) patients and in 10 (77%) patients at the 12-month follow-up. PVEP was non-detectable in all patients preoperatively for both check sizes. For 15' check size, 6 (46%) patients showed responses after 3 and 12 months except for 1 patient with normal responses at 12 months with the remaining non-detectable. For 60' checks, 11 (85%) patients had responses 3 months after surgery with only 9 (70%) showing responses at 12 months. Abnormal full-field ERGs were found in all patients preoperatively. Amplitude improvement was found in 10 (77%) patients from baseline to 3 months and in 8 (62%) patients from the 3- to the 12-month follow-up.

Conclusions: In this small cohort of patients with BI-Kpro implantation, a remarkable improvement on visual function quantitatively assessed by electrophysiological testing was found in the majority of cases. Visual electrophysiological testing can contribute to objectively assess functional outcomes in this population.

Keywords: Electrophysiology tests; Full-field electroretinography (ERG); Keratoprosthesis; Visually evoked potentials (VEP).

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Avadhanam VS, Smith HE, Liu C (2015) Keratoprostheses for corneal blindness: a review of contemporary devices. Clin Ophthalmol 9:697–720. https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S27083 . (Published 2015 Apr 16) - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Matthaei M, Bachmann B, Hos D, Siebelmann S, Schaub F, Cursiefen C (2019) Technik der Boston-Typ-I-Keratoprothesen-Implantation : videobeitrag [Boston type I keratoprosthesis implantation technique : video article]. Ophthalmologe 116(1):67–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00347-018-0806-x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sayegh RR, Dohlman CH, Greenstein SH, Peli E (2015) The Boston keratoprosthesis provides a wide depth of focus. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 35(1):39–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/opo.12181 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wendel RT, Mannis MJ, Keltner JL (1984) Role of electrophysiologic testing in the preoperative evaluation of corneal transplant patients. Ann Ophthalmol 16(8):788–793 - PubMed
    1. Pfeiffer N, Tillmon B, Bach M (1993) Predictive value of the pattern electroretinogram in high-risk ocular hypertension. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 34(5):1710–1715 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources