Documenta Ophthalmologica 70:137-144 (1988) 9 Kluwer Academic Publishers - Printed in the Netherlands Follow-up of corneal transplantations at the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam M.J. JAGER, L.J.A. HERMANS, C.L. DAKE, N. GORTZAK-MOORSTEIN, J.H.C. KOK & J. D'AMARO l Department of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam," 1Dutch Cornea Foundation and Eurotransplant, Leiden, The Netherlands Accepted 30 August 1988 Abstract. In order to determine risk factors in corneal transplantations, corneal transplants performed at the Amsterdam Academic Medical Centre (AMC) were registered and the results evaluated by descriptive statistics and actuarial survival curves. The results showed that the diagnosis prior to transplantation, the number of previous transplants, and the vascularization were important prognostic factors for graft survival. The best results were obtained in the absence of vascularization, in primary transplants and in keratoconus, while vascularization in one or more quadrants and a diagnosis such as herpes resulted in poor graft survival. When, for instance, the negative influences of vascularization can be overcome, better results will be obtained. Introduction The results of corneal transplantations depend on a variety of factors [1, 2]. Although improved results are obtained by using top quality donor material [2], better surgical techniques and HLA matching of donor and recipient, graft survival is still not 100% [6]. In order to determine which parameters are important for the results in our hospital, we retrospectively registered data on transplants performed at the Wilhelmina Gasthuis and AMC between 1982 and 1987. Clinical data on the recipient eye before and after transplantation were collected and results analysed by an existing computer follow-up program [7]. The influence of a variety of factors on graft survival was determined. Materials and methods Relevant data on patient, donor and recipient eye in corneal transplants performed between 1982 and 1987 at the Wilhelmina Gasthuis and the AMC in Amsterdam were collected.