Research Publications

Publications

RMLEB leadership and staff participate in ongoing research and publications that advance scientific knowledge and clinical practice to help others overcome blindness. Below are some of the recent publications.

• Assymetrical Injector for Endothelium-In DMEK Without the Need of Pull-Through Technique
  BMJ Open Ophthalmology, 2023
  Purpose: One of latest surgical development of preloaded Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) is the delivery of the graft with the endothelium inwards, which allows for a very fast operation, but requires a pull-through surgical technique. Although the tri-folded, endo-in DMEK technique has significant advantages, the absence of proper surgical instruments that could allow their use without the ‘pull-through’ technique still restricts the wide use of such an operation. None of the available commercial DMEK injectors could be used for tri-folded DMEK (endothelium-inward) orientation, as it requires the graft to be intently secured within the injector. This report presents a retrospective eye bank validation study of an asymmetrical injector designed to orientally implant a tri-folded DMEK graft without needing a pullthrough technique

• Comparison of the Modified Jones Tube Technique and the DMEK EndoGlide Technique With and Without Viscoelastic Material for DMEK Tissue Preparation
  Cornea, 2022
  Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare endothelial cell loss for DMEK (Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty) tissue preparation techniques using the modified Jones tube and the DMEK EndoGlide with and without viscoelastic material to protect the endothelium.
  Christopher, Karen L. MD; Terrin, Staci CEBT; Lohmeier, John BA, CEBT; Hartman, Matthew MD; Davidson, Richard S. MD; Taravella, Michael J. MD
   
• Alcohol Abuse is Associated with Alterations in Endothelial Cell Morphology
  Cornea, 2022
  Purpose: Alcohol consumption is highly prevalent throughout the world. We sought to detect, in a large sample of cornea donors, whether alcohol abuse is associated with changes in corneal endothelial morphology after accounting for other comorbidities including tobacco use.
  Lohmeier, John; Terrin, Staci; Eghrari, Allen Omid
   
• Viability of Preloaded Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty Grafts with 96-hour Shipment
  BMJ, 2021
  Objective: To assess feasibility and compare the effects of 96-hour shipment of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts as a scroll or a tri-fold on cell viability.
  Chen, Conan; Solar, Steven Jared; Lohmeier, John; Terrin, Staci; Baliga, Satya; Gold Wiener, Batya; Schouten Lewis, Daniel; Chiang, Eric; Barnes, Kali Alexandra; Chaurasia, Akash; Eghrari, Allen Omid
   
• Comparison of Tri-folded and Scroll-based Graft Viability in Preloaded Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
  Cornea, 2019
  Purpose: To compare corneal endothelial damage associated with 2 techniques for preloaded Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK): a tri-folded graft stored in a plastic cartridge designed for DMEK and a scrolled graft stored in a modified Jones Tube, at the time of preparation and after shipping.
  Barnes, Kali; Chiang, Eric; Chen, Conan; Lohmeier, John; Christy, Jason; Chaurasia, Akash; Rosen, Allison; Vora, Parth; Cai, Stephanie; Subramanya, Anshul BS; Durr, Nicholas; Allen, Robert; Eghrari, Allen Omid
   
• Viability of Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty Grafts Folded in the Eye Bank
  Cornea, 2018
  Purpose: Preloaded, trifolded grafts in Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty require transfer of the trifolding process from the corneal transplant surgeon to the eye bank technician. We sought to assess whether trifolding may be safely conducted by an eye bank technician with cell loss comparable to standard peeling and lifting.
  Lohmeier, John; Christy, Jason; Chiang, Eric; Barnes, Kali; Cai, Stephanie; Chen, Conan; Subramanya, Anshul; Chaurasia, Akash; Rosen, Allison; Vora, Parth; Durr, Nicholas J.; Allen, Robert; Eghrari, Allen Omid
   
• Residual Ethanol Content of Donor Sclera After Storage in 95% Ethanol and Saline Rinse of Various Durations
  American Journal of Ophthalmology, 1999
  Purpose: Some surgeons are wary of using alcohol-preserved sclera for allografts because they fear a toxic effect on surrounding tissue after placement. We set out to determine the amount of ethanol remaining in scleral allograft material after storage in 95% ethanol.
  Enzenauer, Robert W; Sieck, Eric A; Vavra, Dean E; Jacobs, Edmond P