Morphological appearance of the healing corneal endothelium
G. N. Rao, E. L. Shaw, E. Arthur and J. V. Aquavella
We studied endothelial cell patterns in both the central and the superior
regions of the cornea in 43 cases of cataract extraction and intraocular
lens implantation. During the early postoperative period, the central
endothelial cells maintained their preoperative appearance. The endothelium
within 3 to 4 mm of the superior limbus, however, demonstrated large dark
areas where no cell outlines were visible, bounded by large cells. During
the late postoperative period, there was an increase in the size and a
reduction in the density of the central endothelial cells. In the periphery
the previously acellular areas were populated with cells of varying
diameter. These changes are consistent with postoperative spreading and
sliding of existing cells to cover the traumatized cell-free areas. Central
endothelial cell density in the early postoperative period does not
accurately reflect the actual degree of cell loss.
