15 Steps to Mastering PDEK

Dr. Amar Agarwal demonstrates his technique for pre-Descemet’s endothelial keratoplasty (PDEK) in a patient with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy. To begin the implantation, a trocar anterior chamber maintainer is connected to an air pump and 2 side ports are created. Descematorhexis is performed and the descemet’s-endothelium complex is removed through a clear corneal incision, followed by inferior iridectomy. The PDEK graft is loaded into an IOL injector and inserted into the anterior chamber. An endoilluminator is used to check that the graft is facing the correct way. As the graft is unrolled, air is pumped underneath to assists adhesion to the recipient’s stroma. To complete the operation, the graft is centered with reverse Sinskey hooks, the wounds are sutured and the trocar removed.

In this interview from AAO 2016, Dr. Agarwal discusses the advantages of PDEK