PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual results, complication rates and life quality, using the VF-14 test, after penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus, performed at the "Altino Ventura Foundation", Recife - Pernambuco, Brazil. METHODS: Forty-three patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty were evaluated by the VF-14 test. The mean age of the patients was 29.5 ± 9.8 years. The minimal follow-up was 18 months. The ophthalmological examination data were collected from their medical records. Pearson correlation coeficient was used to analyze the correlation between quantitative variants. r < 0.8 was accepted as indicative of strong correlation. RESULTS: At the last follow-up, 71.7% of the patients achieved 0.5 or better best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Among the most common complications in the postoperative phase were glaucoma (26.1%) and graft rejection (17.4%). The VF-14 final mean score was 78.7. Best scores were obtained in activities such as: car driving during the day (100) and reading large print material (94), while the worst scores were for reading small print material (79.8) and driving car at night (78.1). The correlation between the scores obtained and the VA after keratoplasty was weak (r = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: The visual results were good, as 71,7% of patients presented BCVA ³0.5 in the postoperative phase. The correlation between VA after keratoplasty and mean score of VF-14 test was weak. The complications rates were low and glaucoma was the most frequent of them.
Keratoconus/complications; Keratoplasty, penetrating; Treatment outcome; Postoperative complications; Quality of life
