Eccentric lamellar keratolimbal grafts harvested with a manually guided microkeratome. Technical report

BACKGROUND: To perform lamellar keratolimbal allograft transplantation in a one-step procedure with a single graft, we investigated the feasibility of harvesting eccentric lamellar keratolimbal grafts from conventionally processed corneoscleral buttons using a manually guided microkeratome in conjunction with an artificial anterior chamber system. METHODS: We used the Moria LSK-One microkeratome and the automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (ALTK) system (Antony, France). Ten human donor eyes were used to obtain single-piece lamellar keratolimbal grafts. Specimens were processed for light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Eccentric keratolimbal grafts could be obtained from all human donor buttons. Grafts include a crescent-shaped limbal and a large corneal portion. No visible damage to the limbal region was discernible. CONCLUSION: Our data show that the LSK-One microkeratome in conjunction with the ALTK system allows harvesting eccentric keratolimbal grafts from donor corneoscleral buttons.