MEDICAL STUDIES
Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research (LEITR) announced that for the first time, EndoGlide (Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) cartridges preloaded by an eye bank have been successfully used in corneal transplantation. The EndoGlide was selected for initial endothelial keratoplasty transplant procedures utilizing donor endothelial tissue that was pre-cut, trephined and pre-loaded into the device at the Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research (LEITR) in Tampa, FL. It was then transported to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where the groundbreaking procedures were performed by Roberto Pineda II, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
To date, over a dozen cases have been performed at Massachusetts Eye & Ear by Dr. Pineda and by Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. “In published literature, the EndoGlide device has already shown excellent outcomes in endothelial cell
protection when loaded by surgeons,” says Dr. Pineda. “Tissue preparation and device pre-loading by eye banks simplifies the surgery and may provide increased reproducible outcomes for endothelial keratoplasty.”
Last year, LEITR reported that eye banks are able to safely prepare and load corneal tissue into the EndoGlide cartridges. In a pre-clinical study
presented at the 2012 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, corneal buttons pre-loaded by LEITR sustained an average of 9.07% endothelial cell damage, compared to 36.2% endothelial cell damage in control group tissue that was loaded into the insertion system on site. The difference in endothelial damage between the preloaded and control buttons was statistically significant (P = 0.004).
“Eye banks have proven their ability to change industry practices for the better,” said Lewis R. Groden, MD, Medical Director at LEITR, Associate
Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of South Florida, and Executive Medical Director of LasikPlus Vision Center/LCA Vision. “Pre-loading grafts into insertion cartridges prior to transport may be a compelling new innovation for endothelial keratoplasty.”
About Endothelial Keratoplasty (EK)
Endothelial Keratoplasty (EK) procedures allow surgeons to preserve the majority of a recipient’s cornea while replacing the non-functioning or diseased inner portion of the cornea with a healthy donor tissue. EK procedures require small incisions and are more minimally invasive than Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK) procedures. Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) is a procedure offering minimal astigmatism and more rapid visual recovery, as compared to traditional PK procedures.