DALK-AD with big bubble effective

Article

Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasties by air dissection (DALK-AD) using the big bubble (BB) technique provides good visual outcomes in keratoconus treatment.

Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasties by air dissection (DALK-AD) using the big bubble (BB) technique provides good visual outcomes in keratoconus treatment, reveals a study in Cornea.

Dr David Smadja et al., National Reference Centre for Keratoconus, Bordeaux University Hospital, France, performed 44 consecutive keratoplasties on 42 keratoconus patients between January 2008 to June 2010. The team analysed the outcomes of the DALK-AD that wasn't converted to penetrating keratoplasty and a learning curve was created to achieve DALK-AD using BB.

Of the DALK-AD procedures performed, 32 were successful and 12 were converted to penetrating keratoplasty during the surgical procedure. At 12 months follow-up mean best-corrected logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity was 0.88 ± 0.14.

Best-corrected visual acuity of ≥20/30 was seen in 93.3% of patients and 100% achieved best-corrected visual acuity of ≥20/40. At six and twelve months follow-up the mean gain of visual acuity in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution lines was 6.12 ± 3.97 and 6.94 ± 4.18, respectively.

The DALK-AD with BB is a safe and effective technique for the surgical treatment of keratoconus. However, surgeons will need a learning period to reduce intraoperative complications.

The abstract for this investigation can be found here .

Newsletter

Get the essential updates shaping the future of pharma manufacturing and compliance—subscribe today to Pharmaceutical Technology and never miss a breakthrough.

Recent Videos
Omer Trivizki, MD, MBA, a retina specialist from Tel Aviv Medical Center, speaks about VOY-101, a Novel, Complement-Modulating Gene Therapy for Geographic Atrophy at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Annual Meeting
João Pedro Marques, MD, MSc, PhD discusses a retrospective study of 800 patients with inherited retinal diseases during the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) annual meeting
Christine Curcio, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, shares histology update and revised nomenclature for OCT with Sheryl Stevenson of the Eye Care Network and Ophthalmology Times
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.