Impact of Ring Implant Surgeries on the Corneal Transplant Queue at a Reference University Hospital in the State of Pará

Abstract

Keratoconus is a progressive non-inflammatory ectatic dystrophy, characterised by thinning and curving of the cornea, with central or paracentral conical protrusion, which occurs due to a biomechanical failure of the corneal stroma that is no longer able to resist the internal and external pressures exerted. The objective of the study was to analyse the positive impact of performing ring implant surgeries on patients on the corneal transplant waiting list, at the Bettina Ferro de Souza University Hospital (HUBFS), in 2023. Of the 87 intrastromal ring implants performed in 2023, 6 patients were excluded due to lack of complete data to carry out the evaluation of this work, using the total number of patients for this research 81 (100%). It was found that 89% of patients showed an improvement in corrected visual acuity after ring implantation, with approximately half reaching 100% of their visual range, providing a visual acuity of 1.0. This study showed that of the 14 patients enrolled for corneal transplantation with keratoconus who also had an indication for ring implantation, only 4 still required corneal transplantation after the procedure. In this sphere, it was evident that the patients had an improvement in visual acuity, symptoms and postponed or canceled the corneal transplant. However, more research is needed in this field, in order to obtain advances that make this procedure even safer, minimizing the risks inherent to its placement, with a view to improving the patient's quality of life.