Corneal Nerve Aberrations in Bullous Keratopathy

PurposeTo study the corneal nerves in patients with chronic bullous keratopathy.DesignProspective observational case series with histologic evaluation.MethodsWe studied 25 eyes of 25 bullous keratopathy patients of different etiologies (17 female, 8 male; mean age, 76.3 years) as well as 6 eyes of 6 normal control subjects (5 male, 1 female; mean age, 38 years). All subjects were scanned by laser scanning confocal microscope. Five corneal buttons obtained following penetrating keratoplasty from 5 of the above patients and 6 normal control corneal buttons were stained as whole mounts with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) method for corneal nerve demonstration and scanned in multiple layers with digital pathology scanning microscope.ResultsThe density, branching pattern, and diameter of sub-basal nerves were significantly lower in corneas with bullous keratopathy compared with normal corneas (density: 4.42 ± 1.91 mm/mm2 vs 20.05 ± 4.24 mm/mm2; branching pattern: 36.02% ± 26.57% vs 70.79% ± 10.53%; diameter: 3.07 ± 0.64 μm vs 4.57 ± 1.12 μm). Aberrations such as localized thickenings or excrescences, abnormal twisting, coiling, and looping of the (mid) stromal nerves were observed in the study group both by in vivo confocal microscopy and on histology.ConclusionsStriking alterations in corneal innervation are present in corneas with bullous keratopathy that are unrelated to any specific etiology of bullous keratopathy. This study provides histologic confirmation of novel in vivo confocal microscopy findings related to corneal nerves in bullous keratopathy