To quantitatively assess the exact dimensions of donor corneas (longest and shortest diameters, area, perimetry, and roundness) after mechanical trephination.

The donor corneas used for deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) were recruited for this study. All donors were punched from the endothelial side with the new, unused, disposable Barron non-vacuum punch. From the records obtained intraoperatively, the photograph that most clearly represented the entire epithelial and endothelial edges was prepared using software. Only those photographs with sharp and distinct borders were included in the analysis. The photographs were systematically analyzed using ImageJ software.

A total of 87 corneoscleral buttons were procured. The mean donor trephine size was 8.36±0.22 mm. After mechanical trephination, the mean graft roundness was 0.909±0.077 (range, 0.778 to 0.999) in the epithelial side and 0.911±0.074 (range, 0.785 to 0.999) in the endothelial side. The area of the graft epithelial side was significantly greater than the intended donor area, wheres the area of the graft endothelial side was significantly lower than the intended donor area.

Our study indicates that marked variance in diameter, roundness and edge profile angle may be encountered after the mechanical trephination of donor grafts used for DALK.