The most common indication for
corneal transplantation was
keratoconus (KCN, n = 21,350 eyes, 45.3%), followed by bullous keratopathy (BK, n = 8,566 eyes, 18.2%),
corneal opacity and
scar (COS, n = 7,158 eyes, 15.2%), graft failure (n = 3,252 eyes, 6.9%),
corneal dystrophies (n = 2,553 eyes, 5.4%), and infectious
keratitis (n = 2,238 eyes, 4.7%). Over the study period, there was a significant increase in the frequency of BK (P = 0.001) and graft failure (P = 0.025), and a significant decrease in the relative frequency of COS (P = 0.012). The prevalence of KCN (P = 0.172), infectious
keratitis (P = 0.107), and
corneal dystrophies (P = 0.836) remained unchanged. The most common technique of
corneal transplantation was
penetrating keratoplasty (PKP, n = 33,476 eyes, 71.0%), followed by deep anterior
lamellar keratoplasty (DALK, n = 8,363 eyes, 17.7%), Descemet's stripping automated endothelial
keratoplasty (DSAEK, n = 3,516 eyes, 7.5%), tectonic (n = 1752, 3.7%), and keratolimbal allograft (KLAL, n = 19 eyes, 0.1%). Regarding the shift in surgical techniques, a significant increase was observed in DSAEK (P < 0.001), whereas PKP was significantly decreased (P = 0.005) over the 8-year period. No significant change was seen in the rates of DALK (P = 0.354), tectonic graft (P > 0.999) and KLAL (P = 0.151).
CONCLUSION: