Outcome of corneal grafting with donor tissue from eyes with primary choroidal melanomas. A retrospective cohort comparison

OBJECTIVES: To determine if melanomas have occurred in the recipients of corneas from donor eyes with primary choroidal melanomas and to determine the success of corneal grafting with tissue taken from eyes with primary choroidal melanomas. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort comparison and follow-up patient questionnaire. SETTING: A tertiary medical center in Rochester, Minn. PATIENTS: In patients who received corneal transplants, we reviewed 47 consecutive corneas transplanted from donor eyes enucleated for choroidal melanomas and compared them with 47 corneal grafts from donor eyes without melanomas matched for recipient age (+/- 10 years), date of operation (+/- 12 months), corneal storage time (+/- 24 hours), and operation type. RESULTS: No melanomas occurred in either group over a mean follow-up of 5.4 years (range, 0.4 to 15 years). There was no significant difference between the two groups in corneal thickness and endothelial cell loss at 2 months and 1 year after transplantation and in the probability of a rejection episode. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence of tumor transmission by transplantation of corneas from donor eyes with primary choroidal melanomas. Corneas transplanted from donor eyes with primary choroidal melanomas have similar outcomes to corneas transplanted from donor eyes without melanomas.