Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety of long-term storage and shipping of prestripped, prestained, and preloaded Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (p3DMEK) grafts. Methods: A total of 33 cadaveric corneas were prestripped, prestained, and preloaded using modified Jones tube injectors as p3DMEK. The corneas were masked to groups that were prepared <9 hours (control), 48 hours, and 72 hours before unloading and analysis. The 48- and 72-hour tissues were shipped by airfreight on each day before arrival to simulate domestic and international shipping. The corneas were then stained using Calcein AM vital dye (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) and imaged using an inverted confocal microscope. Primary outcome measures were endothelial cell loss (ECL, %) and sustainability of staining. MetaMorph software (Molecular Devices, Downingtown, PA) was used to quantify ECL, and staining was evaluated subjectively using all-or-none rating. Results: There was no difference in the mean ECL for the control, 48-hour, and 72-hour groups, which were 25.1% ± 8.8%, 26.4% ± 17.5%, and 19.2% ± 11.5%, respectively (P = 0.45; Kruskal–Wallis test). In all tissues of each group, no loss of staining was identified at each time point of analysis. Conclusions: ECL in p3DMEK tissue prepared 48 and 72 hours in advance and shipped using standard methods is similar to that in p3DMEK tissue prepared on the same day. These findings support the safety of domestic and international shipping of p3DMEK grafts.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.