Article

Dye decreases challenges of sutureless corneal transplant

Sutureless corneal transplantation surgery is sufficiently challenging in and of itself, so any improvement in the technique that lowers the rate of reoperation because of a poorly positioned donor disc or disc detachment is worthy of discussion.

Instilling a drop of indocyanine green (ICG) (IC-Green, Akorn) or trypan blue 0.1% (Vision Blue, Dutch Ophthalmic Research Co.), the latter of which is newly approved by the FDA, on the donor corneal stroma makes visualization and positioning of the tissue markedly easier. This in turn facilitates proper centration, augments visualization of the host-donor interface, and facilitates decreasing or elimination of any interface air bubbles, and thus, lowers the need for a second surgery to adjust the position of the grafted tissue or reattachment of a detached disc.

A disposable trephine (Moria) with a diameter based on surgeon preference is used in a guillotine fashion to punch the donor disc. The donor disc is then folded in a manner resembling a taco. The surface of the taco is either blue or green depending on which dye was used.

Air is then used to unfold the taco inside the anterior chamber. If the donor disc is not properly centered after it is unfolded, it can be moved easily into position onto the host inner corneal surface with a reverse Sinskey hook over an air bubble.

Newsletter

Don’t miss out—get Ophthalmology Times updates on the latest clinical advancements and expert interviews, straight to your inbox.

Related Videos
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) Dilsher Dhoot, MD, on the evolution of geographic atrophy therapy: where are we now?
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times Europe) Anat Loewenstein, MD, shares insights on the real-world results of remote retinal imaging
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) Two-wavelength autofluorescence for macular xanthophyll carotenoids with Christine Curcio, PhD
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) FLIO and the brain: Making the invisible visible with Robert Sergott, MD
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) Structure-function correlates using high-res OCT images with Karl Csaky, MD, PhD
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) SriniVas Sadda, MD, on high-res OCT of atrophic and precursor lesions in AMD
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) Christine Curcio, PhD, shares histology update supporting review software and revised nomenclature for <3 μm OCT
1 expert is featured in this series.
1 expert is featured in this series.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.