10 years of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty in Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. What have we learned?

Background and objectiveDescemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) has increased in popularity since its introduction over 10years ago. This article presents asummary of the experiences of the past years collected at the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Cologne.MethodsA literature review of DMEK studies primarily from the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Cologne, Germany was carried out. Own experiences in the fields of donor selection and graft preparation, DMEK surgery, complication management and postoperative treatment are summarized.ResultsSince the introduction of DMEK experience has been gained and ongoing improvements have occurred ranging from donor-recipient allocation to postoperative follow-up. These led to abetter reproducibility of the intervention for the surgeon, to abetter postoperative result and to a reduction of the complication rate.DiscussionThe DMEK represents asafe and individualized procedure for endothelial transplantation for corneal endothelial dysfunction. Continuing development of the method leads to optimization and safer results