Long-term recurrences of geneticallydetermined disease have been confirmed in corneal grafts by University of Florida clinicians.
The pathology found in donor tissue of several patients was virtually identical to the original disabling dystrophies, according to Dario W.C. Lorenzetti, MD.
These observations, believed the first documented recurrences, do not mean keratoplasty should be avoided in treatment of macular or lattice dystrophies. But possible recurrence should be considered over the long-term, he stressed.
Dr. Lorenzetti, instructor in the department of ophthalmology, reported at the recent American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology sessions in Chicago. His co-author was Herbert E. Kaufman, MD, professor and chairman of the department in Gainesville.
Lattice dystrophy is the result of dominant inheritance and normally occurs bilaterally. Recently, a patient was examined who had received a left cornea graft 20 years previously and a right eye keratoplasty 10 years afterward.
Gradually, the older graft was disabled by a