Summary

Introduction. The main causes of corneal endothelial failure are Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy and aphakic or pseudophakic bullous keratopathy. In the severest cases, the only treatment is corneal transplantation, with penetrating keratoplasty (PK) having been the gold standard over the last 50 years. With the aim of reducing complications arising from this intervention, new techniques have been developed which come within the ambit of socalled endothelial keratoplasty, a procedure characterised by replacing only the posterior layers of the cornea. In this context, Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) is a novel technique with
promising results.

Objectives. To assess the efficacy/effectiveness, safety and cost of the DSAEK technique per se or in comparison with PK, in patients with corneal endothelial failure.

Methods. A bibliographic search stipulating no time limit was made in
October 2012 and updated in January 2013, of papers published in the
principal biomedical databases specialising in systematic reviews (Health Technology Assessment, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, Cochrane Library Plus) and in general databases such as Medline and Embase.