Prospective, randomized clinical evaluation of optisol vs organ culture corneal storage media

Objective: To compare the outcome of penetrating keratoplasty with the use of corneas stored either in Optisol (Chiron Ophthalmics, Irvine, Calif) or in organ culture. Methods: Penetrating keratoplasty was performed on 12 pairs of patients matched by age and diagnosis. Each pair of procedures was done on the same day by the same surgeon using the same technique. Twelve pairs of corneas were used. One cornea of each pair had been stored in organ culture at 36 degrees C and one in Optisol at 4 degrees C. Mean (+/-SD) storage time was 6 +/- 3 days. Mean endothelial cell density before storage was 2617/mm(2) for the corneas in organ culture and 2624/mm(2) for the corneas in Optisol. Examinations were performed at 1, 4, 12. and 24 months. Results: One reversible rejection occurred in the Optisol group. At 1 month the mean endothelial cell density was 2327+/-341/mm(2) for the organ culture group and 2240 +/- 504/mm(2) for the Optisol group. At 12 months the difference was more pronounced (2225 +/- 410 and 2103 +/- 466/mm(2), respectively), although statistically not significant. Corneal thickness also did not show any statistically significant difference. Conclusion: Penetrating keratoplasty performed with corneas stored for a maximum of 11 days in either Optisol or organ culture show similar outcomes in the first 2 postoperative years.