Outcome of corneal grafting with donor tissue from eyes with primary choroidal melanomas. A retrospective cohort comparison
D. A. Harrison, D. O. Hodge and W. M. Bourne
Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., USA.
OBJECTIVES: To determine if melanomas have occurred in the recipients of
corneas from donor eyes with primary choroidal melanomas and to determine
the success of corneal grafting with tissue taken from eyes with primary
choroidal melanomas. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort comparison and follow-up
patient questionnaire. SETTING: A tertiary medical center in Rochester,
Minn. PATIENTS: In patients who received corneal transplants, we reviewed
47 consecutive corneas transplanted from donor eyes enucleated for
choroidal melanomas and compared them with 47 corneal grafts from donor
eyes without melanomas matched for recipient age (+/- 10 years), date of
operation (+/- 12 months), corneal storage time (+/- 24 hours), and
operation type. RESULTS: No melanomas occurred in either group over a mean
follow-up of 5.4 years (range, 0.4 to 15 years). There was no significant
difference between the two groups in corneal thickness and endothelial cell
loss at 2 months and 1 year after transplantation and in the probability of
a rejection episode. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence of tumor
transmission by transplantation of corneas from donor eyes with primary
choroidal melanomas. Corneas transplanted from donor eyes with primary
choroidal melanomas have similar outcomes to corneas transplanted from
donor eyes without melanomas.
