Lymphangiogenesis in human corneal grafts that has evolved to re-transplantation

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To study human corneal buttons with lymphangiogenesis through histopathological examination, together with the grafts of their preceding and subsequent transplantations, evaluating the time intervals for successive surgeries

Methods:

A descriptive, observational and longitudinal study of human corneal buttons that have lymphatic vessels, together with its preceding and subsequent transplants. Tissues were obtained from penetrating keratoplasty in the period between the years 2006 and 2013. After a medical records review in which information on the dates of the surgeries were mainly obtained, we built a survival table from which the time intervals for retransplantation were calculated.

Results:

Among 89 cases of corneal lymphangiogenesis, we included only those 22, which had previous or subsequent transplantations records in medical records. In cases where the probable regrafting etiology were lymphangiogenesis, alone or combined with hemangiogenesis (pre-lymphangiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis and interlymphangiogenesis groups), time intervals for retransplantation were found to be minor (7 and 3 months, respectively) than that found in lymphangiogenesis/post-lymphangiogenesis group that had other probable etiologies for retransplantations (11.31 months). Cases that had isolated lymphangiogenesis as probable etiology of retransplantation showed an interval time for retransplantation (3 months) lower than that found in cases in which the probable etiology was lymphangiogenesis associated with hemangiogenesis (7.80 months).

Conclusion:

Lymphangiogenesis, alone or combined with hemangiogenesis, was found in human corneal grafts studied that have evolved to regraft in small time intervals. This finding leads us to suggest a possible role for the lymphatic vessels in reducing the human corneal grafts survival time.

Keywords:
Lymphangiogenesis; Angiogenesis; Corneal transplantation; Keratoplasty; Reoperation